A federal judge has ordered Biden's Justice Department to respond to wrongful death charges from the family of Ashli Babbitt, the 35-year-old Air Force Veteran who was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer on January 6th, 2021.
Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, gave the DOJ until September 6 to answer charges of assault and battery, negligence, and wrongful death in the $30 million case.
The officer who killed Babbitt, Michael Byrd, was not charged by the DOJ and has faced no disciplinary action from Capitol Police.
Byrd shot Babbitt, who was unarmed, as she attempted to enter the Speaker's Lobby through a shattered glass window.
The Judicial Watch lawsuit accuses Byrd of causing Babbitt's wrongful death through negligence. This included failing to warn Babbitt, making a careless assessment of the threat she posed, and not providing timely medical care after shooting her.
Byrd would later admit that he shot Babbitt without seeing her hands "or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female," the lawsuit states.
"A reasonably prudent officer in Lt. Byrd’s position would have been aware that, in fact, Ashli was unarmed, small in stature, and did not pose a threat of
imminent death or serious physical injury to Lt. Byrd or anyone else by merely climbing through the window," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also points to negligent supervision and training from Capitol Police, noting Byrd was known to "behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner" after he left his loaded gun - the same one that he used to kill Babbitt - unattended in a Capitol bathroom used by visitors.
The Biden Justice Department had the case moved from San Diego to Washington D.C., which has proven highly favorable to the DOJ in its January 6th cases.
Judge Reyes told Judicial Watch to file a brief supporting its motion to send the case back to San Diego, where Babbitt's husband lives.
Months after Babbitt was killed, the Justice Department cleared Byrd of criminal wrongdoing without interviewing him. The Capitol Police likewise determined he acted appropriately.
“Ashli Babbitt and her family deserve accountability and justice for her wrongful death on January 6. In short, there was no good reason for Lt. Byrd to ambush and shoot her,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
“But the Biden Justice Department, rather than admit government wrongdoing, is doing its best try to ensure Ashli never gets her full day in court.”
