Justice failed: Unnamed Capitol Police Officer who killed Ashli Babbitt faces no consequences
The Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt during the breach of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 has been cleared of all charges
Trump supporter and 10-year USAF veteran Ashli Babbitt was shot to death inside the Capitol Building during the flagrantly mischaracterized “insurrection” January 6. Her anonymous shooter, a Capitol Police officer, will not be charged. (Photos: Ashli Babbitt/YouTube)
A fatal shooting, the only real murder on the day of the Fascist Left’s fake insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, will go unpunished. The family of 10-year U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, 35, will see no justice for her. The black officer who shot the unarmed woman with no legitimate rationale has not been named, allegedly because he received death threats.
The announcement was made quietly by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia on April 14. There was only a late afternoon media release, no fanfare, no press conference. Just a cowardly release of information that insults the memory of Ashli Babbitt.
“Baffling,” is what Babbitt family lawyer Terrell Roberts, said of the decision. “I find it to be baffling given the circumstances that it’s a clear case of shooting an unarmed person without any legal justification, but I have no idea what went into their decision.”
On January 6, Babbitt traveled from San Diego to Washington, D.C., alongside hundreds of thousands of other Americans, to protest election fraud. She was captured on video, having entered the Capitol building illegally, trying to climb through a broken window onto the House floor, when she was hit in the head by gunfire and immediately fell to the ground. Babbitt was had only a sweater and scarf in her backpack.
The officer was relieved of his policing duties and placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. Babbitt’s family is reportedly suing the officer for constitutional abuses and excessive use of force.
In an e-mail statement to ACV, the officer’s lawyer, Mark Schamel, wrote: “This is the only correct conclusion following the events of January 6. The lieutenant exercised professionalism and fantastic restraint in defending and protecting members of Congress … ”
DOJ reports claim the officer “clearly identified himself and ordered the mob not to come through the barricade.” Their conclusion is the officer used “tremendous restraint” in only firing one shot, and “his actions stopped the mob from breaking through and turning a horrific day in American history into something so much worse.”
The unidentified Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbit fired the fatal shot through a window in double doors where Babbitt and about 15 other demonstrators were attempting to gain entry to the House proper. (Photo: Jayden T./YouTube)
What his so-called “restraint” did was take the life of a wife and mother of four. The officer, through many experts’ review of available cell phone video of the incident, had no defense for using deadly force.
On April 7, D.C. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Francisco J. Diaz determined Babbitt’s death a homicide, owing to a fatal gunshot wound to the left anterior shoulder. According to the National Association of Medical Examiners, “Homicide occurs when death results from a volitional act committed by another person to cause fear, harm, or death.”
But according to the DOJ, there was “no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully committed a violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 242.”
Specifically, their investigation concluded there was no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress.
That conclusion is ludicrous on its face.
It bears repeating, though Babbitt’s death was ruled a homicide, the DOJ decided not to pursue charges against the officer, quoting “insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.” While the definition of “homicide” was accurate, the decision not to charge the officer is rife with poor legal reasoning.
Consider the difference in treatment of the Capitol officer versus the case of fired Minnesota police officer Kim Potter. Potter, who is white, was charged last Thursday with second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, who resisted arrest and was stopped on a warrant for attempted aggravated robbery. Potter allegedly shot Wright upon mistaking her firearm for her taser. The 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department made her first appearance in court April 15 wearing a black-and-orange jumpsuit.
Protestors in Minneapolis have once again set fire to the streets, claiming police brutality and demanding justice for Wright, wreaking havoc and destruction on local businesses and citizens.
Arguably, these violent demonstrations are contributing to the rush to charge Potter. Conversely, the false narrative focus of “insurrection” on January 6 not only overshadowed Babbitt’s death but also downplayed any accountability for the still-publicly-unidentified officer who appears to have murdered her.
A flagrant double standard of justice is illustrated by the dismissal of charges against an unnamed black police officer who fired the fatal shot at Ashli Babbitt and the railroading of 26-year Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter following the fatal shooting of Duante Wright. (Photo: Brooklyn Center Police Department/Wright Family Photo)
Similarities may be drawn between the two tragedies, as both officers were in the midst of volatile situations. Yet the disparity between the treatment of the two comes down to issues of politics and race, neither of which should enter into the investigation or interfere with an officer’s ability to do her job. This raises serious questions about the potential breakdown of the judicial process in our country.
Within two days of the shooting, Potter was fired from her job and charged. The Capitol police officer was never arrested and remains unnamed for “his own safety.”
No doubt influencing this breakdown of justice is the mainstream media, heinously portraying the riots in Minneapolis, where businesses are burning and citizens are living in fear, as “mostly peaceful.” Rarely are these protestors charged or even detained.
In recent weeks, prosecutors have approved deals in at least half a dozen federal felony cases arising from clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Oregon last summer. Some lawyers attribute the deferral of the criminal convictions to the arrival of President Joe Biden’s administration in January and to policy and personnel changes at the Justice Department.
Meanwhile, dozens of Trump supporters have been deteriorating mentally and physically in solitary confinement in federal and state jails with no due process since January 6. Capitol defendants face multiple charges for use or possession of a “deadly weapon,” a riot shield, inside the building on January 6 — and flashing a laser at police aircraft. Offenders also face civil disorder charges similar to the “obstruction of an official proceeding” charge filed against more than 130 Capitol protestors.
Among these defendants is Victoria White, age 39. White faces charges of “criminal acts” for her participation in the breach of the Capitol. The mother of four from Rochester, Minnesota, works as a waitress and could face up to 55 years in prison if convicted. Like Babbitt, White traveled to D.C. to protest election fraud and entered the Capitol, where, according to FBI documents, she allegedly “assaulted Metropolitan Police” when she “tried to grab an officer’s shield.” According to White, she wasn’t grabbing the shield but putting up her hand against it as a form of self-protection.
The FBI has made an average of more than four arrests a day, seven days a week since January 6, according to Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin.
Closing the case without charges against the black officer for the apparent coldblooded murder of an unarmed white protestor, while a white female police officer is railroaded for trying to arrest a black armed robbery suspect is a slap in the face to Lady Justice.
Much worse, it represents flagrant double standard in our court system that cannot be tolerated.