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Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran fatally shot while attempting to breach the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, will be granted full military funeral honors, a reversal from the Air Force's initial decision to deny her the honor.
According to the HuffPost, the Air Force reversed a 2021 decision to deny Babbitt full military funeral honors due to her illegal actions during the Capitol Riots.
“Reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death and considering the information that has come forward since then,” Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier, who approved the reversal, said in a statement. “I was persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
Babbitt, 35, was shot by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd as she tried to climb through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby, where lawmakers were being evacuated. Byrd, who was cleared of wrongdoing, said he repeatedly commanded Babbitt to stop, but she refused.
“I tried to wait as long as I could,” Byrd previously said. “I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.”
Though Babbitt was unarmed, she was wearing a backpack and surrounded by rioters. Byrd made what he called a "last resort" decision amid the insurrection. The Department of Justice and Capitol Police both concluded his use of force was justified.
Babbitt’s family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government that was settled for $5 million.
Babbitt, a vocal QAnon supporter, posted conspiracy theories online in the months leading up to the attack. On Jan. 5, 2021, she tweeted: “The storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours… Dark to light!”
The veteran died while wearing a Trump flag draped around her shoulders. Former President Trump has repeatedly celebrated her as a martyr, calling her an “incredible person” and wishing her a posthumous happy birthday in a 2021 video.
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