Ashli Babbitt – then called Ashli McEntee – was driving to the office when the anger in her head hit a critical point.
The San Diego County resident browsed and recorded on her cell phone.
“I’m suddenly very hot,” she began, turning her eyes away from the road to look at the camera. I am so sick of these politicians in this divine state. I can no longer do it, ”she says, her voice rising, her words flowing out so fast that she barely has time to breathe. “They are all worried about what Trump is doing. How are we going to worry about what the hell? you are do! ”
Ashli Babbitt is shown on this driver’s license photo from Maryland.
(Sheriff’s Office in Calvert County)
The source of her anger: border security, and so much more because of immigration. California suffers. Our homeless problem is out of control. Our drugs are out of control …
“I’m so tired of this. I’m awake, man. ”
The November 2018 video gave a hint of the anger and mindset that drove the 35-year-old Air Force veteran two years later to join Trump supporters in Washington and then push her into the Capitol. Ashli Babbitt was shot dead by Capitol police on Wednesday as he tried to climb through the broken glass of a barred door leading to the room where the House of Representatives was ratifying Trump’s presidential defeat.
Family members identified her on the shooting social media video long before authorities officially notified them.
Her husband and family members made few public comments, but former husband Timothy McEntee, who was stationed with her at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, described Babbitt as “a wonderful woman with a big heart and a strong mood. ‘
He wrote: “She loved America with all her heart. This is truly a sad day. ‘
The couple, both security specialists in detecting explosives, were named in a 2008 publication for the adoption of the military working dog named Sorbon. Another military publication said Babbitt had at least eight deployments between the air force and the national air force, including in Iraq.
According to public records, Babbitt, married in 2019, owned a pool service in the San Diego area. Court records show no criminal history, and civil cases are limited to a credit card collection against her husband and a lone business dispute. She posted photos of her and her husband and army support on her professional websites.
But Babbitt’s social media presence was completely different, promoting not only messages of support for Trump, but also hatred of those who ordered COVID-19 restrictions, mistrust in the general media and a buy-in for QAnon conspiracy theories, including that Disney cherished pedophiles and thousands of children are mysteriously missing, and the country she loved was in danger, especially above all. She promoted tweets that characterized black people as criminals, even while supporting Trump supporters who are black.
She wrote that Trump “is one of the greatest warriors of gods … who is the way for our patriots to stand up without fear against everything we face.”
The day before her death, facing the prospect of re-canceled flights to the capital, Babbitt responded on Twitter: ‘Nothing will stop us … they can try and try, but the storm is here and it subsides on DC in less than 24 hours …. dark to light! ”
‘Dark to Light’, often mixed with Christian references, is a national anthem for fans of QAnon and by a lawyer in Atlanta, of which Babbitt was a close follower, L. Lin Wood.
In early December, Babbitt Wood’s admonition, ‘give me freedom or give me death’, tweeted again, along with someone else’s post praising the Trump protesters who kicked, beat and masked an anti-fascist protester strike, with the heavy wooden poles with their American flags.
“Dark to light! Let freedom ring and god bless America! God knows, God sees and he comes in! Nothing can stop what is happening, “Babbitt tweeted in December in a statement against Democrats who say they sold their souls to Satan.
In 2012, Babbitt’s political affairs were much lighter. On Facebook, for example, she supported Ron Paul’s Libertarian candidacy for president. By 2018, she opposed all gun laws, and she expressed great concern about crime in the area she considered due to incoming immigrants.
“I want politicians to come here and tell me my lie is a lie,” Babbitt said in a kitchen video. ‘The border is absolute [mess]…. There are riots, there are arrests, there are rapes, there are drugs, there are cries, there are many issues, there are abandoned children. ”
When COVID-19 forced business closures and masking orders in San Diego, Babbitt’s frequent anger, which was very explicit, was directed at one of the sources of these demands: Governor Gavin Newsom.
A San Diego County organizer for a campaign to remove Newsom from office was surprised to learn that Babbitt was a local supporter of the cause and attended many of the same events in the area.
Stephanie Melvin, who works at a medical office but does not oppose masking orders, said she struggles with COVID-19 orders that prevent her from evicting a tenant who does not want to pay rent. And Melvin is angry at what she sees as arrogance and elitism among political leaders, such as Newsom’s maskless attendance at a lavish dinner with lobbyists in November. “Our beautiful condition is burning to the ground because of him,” she said.
She also shared some of Babbitt’s mistrust in the media, including whether those to the political judge are behind the mass siege of the Capitol on Wednesday.
“It’s leftists who are consistently violent,” Melvin said.
On Thursday, the front door of Babbitt’s pool service business carried a sign declaring it a “Mask Free Autonomous Zone, Better Known as America.”
Teri Figueroa and Alex Riggins of the San Diego Union Tribune contributed to this report.