The Department of Justice has determined that he will not file a complaint against the U.S. Capitol police officer who fatally shot 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 storms at the Capitol.
In a press release announcing the ruling, the Justice Department said the investigation had no evidence that the officer had violated federal laws, and that there was nothing to contradict his view that it was necessary to prosecute Babbitt. to shoot “out of self-defense or defense of the Members of Congress and others who are evacuating the House.”
‘Officials investigated video recordings on social media, statements of the officer concerned and other officers and witnesses of the events, physical evidence from the scene of the shooting and the result of an autopsy’ and ‘based on the investigation, officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution, ”reads the release.
According to the investigation, Babbitt is among a crowd of people who entered the Capitol building and gained access to a hallway outside ‘Speaker’s Lobby’, which leads to the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. At the time, USCP members evacuated the room, which the mob tried to enter from several doors. ‘
It also gave a disturbing account of what the officer, who was not identified, faced during the attack.
“Members of the mob tried to break through the doors by hitting them and breaking the glass with their hands, flagpoles, helmets and other objects. Eventually, the three USCP officers who were outside the doors had to be forced to “As members of the mob continued to slam the glass doors, Ms Babbitt tried to climb through one of the doors where glass had broken out,” the statement read.
The officer fired one round of his service pistol and Ms. “Babbitt hit her in the left shoulder and dropped her on the floor from the doorway,” the statement read. A USCP emergency response team, which started down the aisle to try to subdue the mob, provided assistance to Ms. Babbitt, who was transported to the Washington Hospital Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The Justice Department said the focus of the investigation was to determine whether the officer violated any federal laws, including federal criminal law violations of civil rights.
It noted that a testimony that an officer acted out of fear, error, panic, misperception, negligence or even poor judgment in federal court may not require the high level of intent ‘according to the law. The announcement also said that Babbitt’s family had been notified that the case was closed.
Babbitt was a veteran of the Air Force who was a decorated commander of the security forces and, according to Air Force reports from 2004 to 2016, served several tours in the Middle East.
Babbitt was a loyal Fox News viewer, according to thousands of tweets to Fox News hosts, and also worked on social media with the conspiracy site InfoWars. In 2020, Babbitt started tweeting with accounts and hashtags related to QAnon. The day before the protest she tweeted: “Nothing will stop us …. they can try and try, but the storm is here and it drops to DC within 24 hours … dark to light!”
Babbitt was one of five people, including a Capitol police officer, who died as a result of the riot.
More than 300 people were charged with participating in the riot, which happened when a joint congressional session compared the election college score.
