A new historic wrongful death and negligence lawsuit on behalf of January 6, 2021, police-murder victim Ashli Babbitt’s estate details Officer Michael Byrd’s incompetence and multiple revocations of his firearm privileges for previous dangerous incidents.
The Gateway Pundit reported Friday, one day before the third anniversary of Jan. 6, that Judicial Watch filed a $30 million wrongful death suit against the federal government for the Capitol Police shooting of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt.
Judicial Watch Files $30 Million Wrongful Death Suit Over Jan. 6 Protester Ashli Babbitt’s Death
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of California.
“Ashli loved her country and wanted to show her support for President Trump’s America First policies and to see and hear the president speak live while he remained in office. Ashli did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose. She was there to exercise what she believed were her God-given, American liberties and freedoms,” reads the complaint.
The filing continues, “After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd, who is a USCP commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.”
BREAKING: @JudicialWatch Files $30 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit against U.S. Government on Behalf of Ashli Babbitt’s Husband and Estatehttps://t.co/o7asveoVYf pic.twitter.com/5zrd94EQ2r
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) January 5, 2024
The Washington Examiner reports that the suit was filed on behalf of Babbitt’s estate and her husband, Aaron Babbitt, and claims the officer who shot Babbitt was “incompetent” and “dangerous” and should have recognized Babbitt posed no threat to Congress when she entered the House speaker’s lobby.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton shared on X, “We just filed an important lawsuit, a $30 million wrongful death action against the United States government on behalf of Ashli Babbitt’s husband and her estate. Ashli Babbit was killed for no good reason that day. Shot and killed by Lt. Michael Byrd.”
“Judicial Watch is seeking accountability from the United States government, that is responsible for that awful and unjustified shooting death.”
“Remember, the only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death, as our lawsuit alleges, of poor Ashli Babbitt. She deserves justice. She deserves accountability. And I tell you, Judicial Watch, and I know all of our supporters, are honored to be able to pursue this lawsuit to get justice for Ashli.”
JUSTICE! Judicial Watch Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Ashli Babbitt Killing!@TomFittonhttps://t.co/3bjPFl65EN pic.twitter.com/SzHIUKkhHq
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) January 5, 2024
Washington Examiner reports,
“The only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death of Ashli Babbitt. Her homicide by Lt. [Michael] Byrd is a scandal beyond belief. This historic lawsuit seeks a measure of justice and government accountability for Ashli’s wrongful death,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
The suit claims that Babbitt was not a threat to lawmakers and that Byrd had a soiled record of gunplay.
For example, it claimed that Byrd once left his Glock 22, used to shoot Babbitt, in a public bathroom. It also claimed that Byrd shot into a car allegedly stolen by teenagers.
The suit shared with Secrets also said he had his police powers suspended in the past for “failing to meet or complete semiannual firearms qualification requirements,” adding, “Lt. Byrd had a reputation among peers for not being a good shot.”
More from Judicial Watch and the court filing:
The lawsuit argues that, based on prior incidents involving Lt. Byrd, the Capitol Police, Capitol Police Board, and ultimately Congress, as Lt. Byrd’s employer, “knew or should have known that Lt. Byrd was prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner:”
Less than two years before January 6, 2021, on or about February 25, 2019, Lt. Byrd left his loaded Glock 22 – the same firearm he used to shoot and kill Ashli Babbitt – in a bathroom in the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) complex. Lt. Byrd’s loaded Glock was discovered during a routine security sweep later the same day. Approximately 15,00 to 20,000 people pass through the CVC, which serves as the main entrance for visitors to the U.S. Capitol, daily during peak season (March-July). Lawmakers and staff charged with oversight of the USCP were not made aware of the incident until contacted by a reporter.
Lt. Byrd’s police powers had been revoked on more than one occasion prior to January 6, 2021, for failing to meet or complete semiannual firearms qualification requirements. In fact, Lt. Byrd had a reputation among peers for not being a good shot. Under USCP’s range management system, an officer who fails to meet firearm qualification requirements is given one week of remedial training. If the officer still fails to qualify after remedial training, police powers are then revoked until the officer qualifies.
Lt. Byrd’s police powers also were revoked for a prior off-duty shooting into a stolen, moving vehicle in which the occupants were teenagers or juveniles. The stolen vehicle was Lt. Byrd’s car. Lt. Byrd fired multiple shots at the fleeing vehicle in a suburban area. Stray bullets from Lt. Byrd’s firearm struck the sides of homes nearby. An official investigation found that Lt. Byrd’s use of force was not justified.
Previously, Judicial Watch received a memo on the Jan. 6 shooting “recommending ‘that the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia decline for criminal prosecution the fatal shooting of Ashli McEntee [Babbitt],’ also noting that the shooter, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, ‘did not create a police report or documents’ related to the shooting of Babbitt,” the watchdog reported.
If this were any other police officer in America, or if the victim was a leftwing protestor or a thug on the street with black skin, leftist groups would be up in arms over the incident, and the officer would be terminated. Why is Robert Byrd treated any differently than Derek Chauvin, the officer who pled guilty to federal charges in the 2020 death of 46-year-old George Floyd, which sparked dangerous and costly riots nationwide?
As The Gateway Pundit recently reported, Chauvin was stabbed 22 TIMES at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson in an attempted hit job by a fellow inmate.
Instead of accountability for this dirty cop, the Biden Regime and the US Air Force reportedly spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to House Michael Byrd in a “distinguished visitor suite” from July 8, 2021, through January 28, 2022, after he murdered Ashli Babbitt in cold blood, Judicial Watch also discovered. Byrd was later promoted to Captain in the Capitol Police Department.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Complaint Final 240104 10pm by Washington Examiner
