The Department of Justice has reached a preliminary settlement with the family of Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer at the January 6, 2021 riot.
Lawyers from Trump’s DOJ and Babbitt’s estate informed a DC federal judge Friday that an agreement has been reached in principle in the $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2024.
Robert Sticht, the Babbitt family lawyer, said a formal settlement agreement is expected to be signed within the next three weeks, according to ABC News.
The US Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd shot an unarmed Babbitt, 35, as she attempted to climb through a broken window of a barricaded door within the Capitol Building during the riot on Jan. 6.
Babbitt was attempting, with hundreds of other Trump supporters, to enter the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol Building as some members of Congress were being evacuated and others were sheltering in place due to the overwhelming riot.
Only one shot was fired, hitting the United States Air Force veteran in the shoulder. She was transported from the riot to Washington Hospital Center where she succumbed to her injuries.
Byrd was cleared of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation by the US Capitol Police which found he acted in self-defense and in the defense of members of Congress.
Babbitt, a San Diego native, served 14 years in the Air Force, including time spent in Afghanistan and Iraq and National Guard deployments in Kuwait and Qatar.
Before her death, Babbitt’s social media history showed that she was a major Trump supporter who would sometimes post about the political conspiracy theory QAnon.
Back in March, President Trump stated he was going to “look into” Babbitt’s death and financial compensation for Jan. 6 rioters who served time in prison.
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