Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by police during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, has been granted full military funeral honors by the Air Force after the Biden administration denied such arrangements.
“On behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force, I write to extend the offer for Military Funeral Honors for SrA Ashli Babbitt,” an Aug. 15 letter to Babbitt’s family read from undersecretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier.
“After reviewing the circumstances of Ahli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
The Trump administration bequeathed the honors onto the veteran after the Biden administration’s 2021 denial for the exalted funerary arrangements.
Babbitt was a veteran of the Air Force and Air National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a security forces airman, Stars and Stripes reported.
The controversial bestowing of funerary honors comes after the Trump administration agreed to a $5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt’s family.
Family, including her advocate husband Aaron Babbitt, initially sued for $30 million.
US Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, who shot and killed the unarmed Babbitt as she attempted to climb through a broken window of a barricaded door, was found to have not acted criminally, according to an internal review.
Babbitt was one of thousands of Trump supporters who rioted in the Capitol in protest of the 2020 presidential election results.
Retired General Mike Flynn celebrated the Air Force’s decision to honor Babbitt’s service.
“There is no better example of how a leader is supposed to act, than right here in this letter,” Flynn said, according to Fox News.
“May Ashli Babbitt now Rest In Peace and her family gain some measure of solace for the wonderful person she was and the light of truth she brought to each of us,” the one-time Trump cabinet member said.
Democrat Rep. Adam Kinzinger lambasted the decision to grant an “insurrectionist” military honors.
“[Ashli] Babbit [sic] dishonored her service by committing insurrection against her country. While her death is absolutely tragic and I wish it hadn’t happened, the AIr Force giving her honors is in itself a dishonor,” the emotional congressman said, Fox News reported.
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