Relatives of Ashli Babbitt, the woman fatally shot inside the U.S. Capitol after breaching the building on Jan. 6, have retained a lawyer and are considering legal action, the attorney said recently.
Terrell N. Roberts said Thursday he is representing Babbitt’s husband and other relatives in demanding answers and accountability from the U.S. Capitol Police and Congress about her death.
“There was no excuse for taking her life,” Mr. Roberts said about Babbitt’s killing, calling it an “unjustified use of deadly force” that Capitol Police could have avoided by just handcuffing her.
Mr. Roberts said neither Capitol Police, nor any other government authority, has provided Babbitt’s family with details about her death they want still answered nearly two months later.
The officer who shot Babbitt has not been identified, and Capitol Police have given “no official explanation or justification for the use of lethal force in this matter,” Mr. Roberts stated.
“This lack of transparency impedes public scrutiny which is necessary to hold government officials accountable in a free society. It also interferes with the ability of Ashli’s family to obtain justice for their loss,” Mr. Roberts said in a statement. “We will continue to investigate this matter. We intend to take appropriate legal action when our investigation has been completed.”
U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.
Babbitt, a 35-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran from California, traveled across the country to Washington to participate in the protests held in early January by supporters of former President Trump.
Mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol shortly after Mr. Trump finished speaking to his supporters on Jan. 6, the day Congress met inside the complex to officially certify the electoral vote declaring Joseph R. Biden winner of the presidential race.
Babbitt was among the mobs that breached the Capitol. She was captured on video being shot and killed while attempting to climb through a broken glass partition leading into the House Speaker’s Lobby.
Mr. Trump was succeeded two weeks later by President Biden.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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