Internal probe clears Capitol Police officer in fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt

WASHINGTON - An internal investigation has cleared a U.S. Capitol Police officer of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of Ashli Babbitt during the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, the department announced Monday.

The Justice Department previously announced that the officer would not face criminal charges in the killing of the 35-year-old California woman, who was shot as she tried to force her way through a set of doors deep inside the Capitol.

Babbitt, who was the only Capitol rioter fatally shot by police, was praised by former president Donald Trump in a statement earlier this month. In the statement, Trump said he had questioned why the officer who shot her was “getting away with murder.” White supremacists and other far-right groups have labeled Babbitt a martyr.

The probe by the U.S. Capitol Police exonerated the officer for his use of force. The department said in a memo outlining the investigation that the officer’s actions were within department policy, which allows deadly force only when an officer reasonably believes they are protecting themselves or others from serious physical harm.

The department said it was not identifying the officer because he and his family “have been the subject of numerous credible and specific threats for actions that were taken as part of the job of all our officers: defending the Congress, Members, staff and the democratic process.”

Babbitt was among a mob of Trump supporters who used a flagpole, a helmet and other items to batter the barricaded doors to the Speaker’s Lobby, the hallway outside the House Chamber where some lawmakers were sheltering on the afternoon of Jan. 6.

Multiple cellphone videos captured Babbitt, who had a Trump flag draped around her neck like a cape, attempting to crawl through the shattered glass pane in one of the doors. The officer, who was standing on the far side of the doors, fired a single shot at her, sending her tumbling backward onto the floor.

Babbitt was hit in the shoulder and later died. Her slaying became a defining moment of the riot.

The Justice Department found in April that there was insufficient evidence to prove Babbitt’s civil rights had been violated and that it was reasonable for the officer to believe he was firing in self-defense or in defense of lawmakers fleeing the House chamber.

Mark E. Schamel, an attorney for the officer, said in April that his client acted appropriately on Jan 6.

“His bravery on January 6 was nothing short of heroic,” Schamel said in a statement. “He stopped the rioters from gaining entry into the Speaker’s Lobby and saved the lives of countless members of Congress and the rioters. His heroism should be no surprise to those who know him.”

Roger Witthoeft, Babbitt’s brother, told The Washington Post in April that the officer should have been charged in her shooting and should face a jury. He called his sister a “decent woman” and a “patriot.”

In June, Babbitt’s family filed a lawsuit seeking more details about the officer who shot her and documents related to the investigation of the shooting.

Babbitt was a supporter of QAnon, an extremist ideology based on false claims, and ardent backer of Trump, her since-deleted Twitter account showed. She tweeted support for Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Babbitt also spent more than a decade in the military, and her ex-husband said she served in Iraq and Afghanistan.