New footage has revealed the moment a US Air Force veteran was shot dead by police while storming the Capitol Building with Donald Trump’s riotous mob in Washington DC yesterday.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, from San Diego, was shot in the chest when she tried to clamber through a barricaded entrance as police faced off with hundreds of MAGA supporters inside the legislature. She died several hours later.
Babbitt’s husband told KUSI she was a 14-year veteran who served four tours with USAF as a ‘high level security official,’ she was a fervent Trump supporter and ‘a great patriot to all who knew her.’ The couple owned a Swimming pool repair and services business together in Spring Valley.
Newly surfaced footage of the fatal incident shows Babbitt and a group of Trump supporters attempting to force their way through double doors which had been barricaded after hundreds poured through the hallways of the Capitol to demand Biden’s election be overturned.
Members of the group are seen attempting to smash windows and physically push through the doors as a number of armed officers stand on the other side, with their guns drawn.
As Babbitt can be seen attempting to climb up through a broken window, one rioter shouts ‘He’s got a gun’ but the warning comes too late. The officer then fires a single shot, sending the veteran crashing down to the ground on her back.
A number of shocked on-lookers are heard shouting as the video cuts out. A second clip shows blood pouring from her mouth as protesters scramble around her and officers with rifles move in to secure the hallway, telling the rioters to get on the ground.
After Babbitt’s death, her mother-in-law told Fox5 she ‘really wasn’t sure’ why she decided the attend the DC protest, but posts on her social media accounts have helped to provide a clearer idea.
The 35-year-old regularly vocalized her support for Trump on Twitter. While she seldom tweeting herself, she often re-shared posts from conservative and right-wing figures, including Michael Flynn and Jack Posobiec.
On the day before her death, on January 5 Babbitt had replied to a tweet regarding flights allegedly being cancelled to DC, despite there being ‘no bad weather’.
‘Nothing will stop us,’ she responded in one of her final posts. ‘They can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light!’
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Ashli Babbitt (left and right) has been identified as the woman who was shot and killed inside the US Capitol when Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building and violently clashed with police in a bid to stop Joe Biden’s victory being certified
Paramedics tend to Babbit moments after she was shot inside the Capitol on Wednesday
Babbitt was a 14-year veteran who served four tours with USAF s a ‘high level security official,’ she was a fervent Trump supporter and ‘a great patriot to all who knew her’, her husband said
Babbitt also appeared to be a supporter of QAnon, having posted a series of images to Twitter in early September, showing her attending a Trump Boat Parade in San Diego, wearing a tank top with the conspiracy group’s logo and slogan on it.
Other posts to her social media page indicate as though she supported conspiracies that Chief Justice Roberts and other high profile politicians in DC engaged in pedophilia. She also referred to California’s lockdown orders as ‘Commie bulls***’ in December, and referred to the COVID-19 pandemic as a ‘f***ing joke’.
In September, she wrote, ‘Trump 2020 landslide! Let freedom ring!’
Babbitt also posted a chain of videos on Twitter in 2018, expressing anger over California’s Democratic politicians in a rant about immigration at San Diego’s southern border, accusing them of ‘refusing to choose America’ over their political party.
‘I’m driving right now but I’m like really heated all of a sudden,’ she begins, ‘I am so sick of these politicians in this god damned state, they’re all worried about what Trump is doing. How about we worry about what the hell you’re doing?
‘Maxine Waters, what have you done? You’re talking about, oh this thing at the border, it’s a political ploy that Trump’s done. Where are you? You’re not even here!’
Babbit, growing more irate, then calls out a host of other elected officials in the Golden State, including Kamala Harris, Ted Lieu, Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom, telling them she was ‘putting you all on notice’.
‘Our economy is going to take an absolute tank because you guys refuse to choose America over your stupid political party,’ she said. ‘You can consider yourself put on notice, me and the American people. I am so tired of this. I am woke, man. This is absolutely unbelievable. Get your s*** together. Thank you.’
Babbitt also appeared to be a supporter of QAnon, having posted a series of images to Twitter in early September, showing her attending a Trump Boat Parade in San Diego, wearing a tank top with the conspiracy group’s logo and slogan
Babbitt traveled to Washington DC from her home in California alone, without her husband (who is pictured above). They owned a pool repair business together
In a post shared to their pool services company’s ‘Inspiration’ tab on Veteran’s Day, a post read: ‘A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with freedom. Happy Veterans Day from all of us at Fowler’s Pool Service
Her last posts to Twitter heavily referenced the January 6 protest. On January 1 Babbitt responded to a user asking, ‘When do we start winning?’ to which she responded, ‘Jan 6, 2021,’ with an American flag and hang five emoji.
Babbitt was shot by a plainclothes officer after trying to enter the House chamber yesterday, confirmed Washington Police Chief Robert Contee.
The shooting is being probed by the police force’s internal affairs unit, as is standard procedure for any death involving an officer.
‘I’m numb. I’m devastated. Nobody from DC notified my son and we found out on TV,’ her mother-in-law, Robin Babbitt, told the New York Post.
Babbtit traveled to DC from her home in California without her husband, FOX 5 DC reported. Robin told the outlet: ‘I really don’t know why she decided to do this.’
According to her since-deleted Facebook page, Babbitt owned and operated a pool repair and services company with her husband called Fowlers Pool Service and Supply Co.
A post shared to the company’s ‘Inspiration’ tab on Veteran’s Day, which included a picture of Babbitt and her husband read: ‘A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with freedom. Happy Veterans Day from all of us at Fowler’s Pool Service.
‘We are so honored to be led by these two who are our fearless leaders and who inspire us everyday with their strength and positivity. You both have been through so much and we owe our freedom to you and all of the other veterans out there who have risked everything. We appreciate everything you do for us and all of our amazing clients.’
An image circulating on social media purports to show one of Babbitt’s final text exchanges.
In the screenshot, the unknown respondent writes to Babbitt: ‘Be safe. ‘I cannot lose you.’
Babbitt appears to respond with a selfie of her on what appears to be a plane, with a Trump 2020 facemask on.
‘Tons of Trump supporters on my plane!!!!’ she responded. ‘I’ll watch my 6.’
Speaking to NBC, her brother-in-law, Justin Jackson, remembered Babbitt as ‘extremely passionate about what she believed in.
‘She loved this country and felt honored to have served in our Armed Forces,’ he continued. ‘Please keep her family in your thoughts and respect their privacy during this time.’
Babbitt also posted a chain of videos on Twitter in 2018, expressing anger over California’s Democratic politicians in a rant about immigration at San Diego’s southern border, accusing them of ‘refusing to choose America’ over their political party
An image circulating on social media purports to show one of Babbitt’s final text exchanges
Babbitt was shot by a plainclothes officer after trying to enter the House chamber yesterday, confirmed Washington Police Chief Robert Contee
According to her since-deleted Facebook page, Babbitt owned and operated a pool repair and services company with her husband called Fowlers Pool Service and Supply Co.
Video showed Babbitt climbing through a broken window seconds before she was shot
A witness looks down at Babbitt collapsed on the ground in shock seconds after she was shot
Another two witnesses spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, describing how Babbitt was shot as she tired to climb through the broken window into the area officers were blocking off.
John Sullivan, recorded a video of the aftermath, showing police with guns drawn and Babbitt lying in a pool of blood in a stairway inside the Capitol.
Sullivan is the founder of the left-wing activist group Insurgence USA. He said he was not at the Capitol as part of the protest but did not specify what exactly brought him there.
Describing the moments leading up to the shooting, Sullivan said protesters were trying to get into the main entrance of the chamber when they came upon two guards who refused to move.
The group then went down another hallway and used flag poles and other items to break windows to get into the chamber before a group of police emerged.
‘All we see is these guns coming out of the doorway, just guns, and all you can see is their hands. You could not see faces,’ he said.
‘Right when I saw that I was yelling to people: ‘Guys, there is guns, you don’t want to go through there. They’re going to shoot.”
Babbitt ignored Sullivan’s plea and went ahead anyway, he said.
‘The second that she climbed through the window, she got shot right in the neck area and fell backwards,’ he said.
‘I just remember, like, the sense of shock and sorrow that somebody just died and did not need to die because she didn’t have a weapon and she was not violent.’
He said the area the protesters were trying to get into was completely blocked off with chairs and tables barricading the doors.
Babbitt’s shooting is being probed by the police force’s internal affairs unit, as is standard procedure for any death involving an officer
Babbitt regularly voiced her support for Trump on social media. Above is a picture of several pro-Trump bumper stickers she uploaded to Twitter
Babbitt’s husband remembered her as a ‘true patriot’ to local media, shortly after her death on Wednesday
Blood is seen on the floor after a woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol during a riot on Wednesday
Babbitt frequently shared her support for Trump on Twitter. She is seen above in this February 2020 post
Sullivan also described trying to deescalate the situation by speaking to police officers before the shooting took place.
‘By no means am I there on the Trump side or the MAGA side, but I don’t want to see people get hurt unnecessarily especially when there should be a better way to go about it,’ he said.
‘I remember just coming up and seeing one of [the officers] crying and saying they want to go home to their kids,’ he said.
Meanwhile the protesters were yelling: ‘Let us in here, we are not trying to hurt you,’ he said.
A fellow Trump supporter told WUSA 9: ‘A number of police and secret service were saying “get back, get down, get out of the way.”
‘She didn’t heed the call and as we kind of raced up to grab people and pull them back they shot her in the neck and she fell back on me.
‘And she started to say “it’s fine, it’s cool” and then she started kinda moving weird and blood was coming out of her mouth and neck and nose and I don’t know if she’s alive or dead any more.’
He added: ‘I’m not injured… it could have been me, but she went in first.’
On social media, supporters of the protests have paid tribute to Babbit, calling her a ‘true patriot’.
‘Ashli Babbit, you truly defended the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. What happened to you today was senseless! Rest In Peace beautiful patriot!,’ one user wrote.
Right-wing commentator Kaitlin Bennett added: ‘DC Police murdered a veteran in cold blood today, but there won’t be any vigils for her like George Floyd. She won’t get a plaza dedicated to her. She won’t even have her name mentioned on the House floor & given a moment of silence.’
Similarly, another user concurred: ‘The veteran Ashli Babbit, a 14-year veteran, who served four tours with the US Air Force, and was a high level security official throughout her time in service is being portrayed as an extremist.. George Floyd portrayed as a hero..’
An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while Trump supporters gather in front of the Capitol on Wednesday
The mostly maskless crowd flooded the halls of the Capitol with little resistance from police
Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress
Supporters of Donald Trump are seen inside the US Capitol after rioters breached security and entered the Capitol
Witness John Sullivan (right) spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday evening and suggested that Babbitt may have been shot by a police officer when she tired to climb through a broken window into an area that officers were blocking off
Multiple police officers were reportedly injured during the violence that took over the Capitol grounds on Wednesday afternoon and continued well into the night.
The chaotic scenes unfolded at about 3pm, soon after Trump addressed thousands of his supporters and encouraged them to march to the Capitol, where lawmakers were convened to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory in the presidential election.
Dozens of protesters – many of them armed and most not wearing masks – breached barricades around the building and pushed past countless police officers to enter the Rotunda.
A small group managed to get into the chamber, where cowering lawmakers were told to put on gas masks as tear gas filled the air.
One protester occupied the Senate dais and yelled: ‘Trump won that election’. Some protesters even occupied Pelosi’s office, sitting mockingly at a desk.
When the violence kicked off Trump took to Twitter and urged the protesters to ‘stay peaceful’. A few hours later he posted a video telling his ‘very special’ supporters inside the Capitol that he loves them and understands their pain but urged them ‘to go home’.
Meanwhile Biden called for the ‘mob to pull back’ and said the uprising bordered on sedition.
The National Guard was quickly deployed to help police enforce a 6pm curfew in DC. Hundreds of protesters remained on the Capitol grounds after the curfew went into effect.
Just before 8pm lawmakers who had been whisked to safety during the siege began arriving back at the Capitol to resume the certification proceedings.
The lawmakers were seen flanked by armed guards as they made their way into the Capitol.
A Trump supporter posed alongside a statue of President Gerald Ford inside the Capitol
A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Paramedics and protesters work together to transport a wounded man on a barrier near the Capitol
Police try to hold back protesters pushing into a doorway at the Capitol on Wednesday
National Guard members line up on the Capitol grounds as protesters continue occupying the area after curfew