WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has decided to provide military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, a participant in the Capitol riot who was fatally shot at the age of 35 by an officer during the events of January 6, 2021.
Babbitt, a former U.S. Air Force member from California, was killed while draped in a Trump campaign flag as she tried to climb through a broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby inside the Capitol.
Providing military honors to a Capitol rioter aligns with former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reinterpret the events following the 2020 election as a patriotic cause, as he still disputes the election results. Babbitt has been hailed as a martyr within Republican circles, and the Trump administration agreed to a nearly $5 million settlement in response to a wrongful-death lawsuit her family filed due to her shooting.
Matthew Lohmeier, under secretary of the Air Force, expressed on X that the offer was “long overdue,” and reposted a statement from a conservative legal organization supporting Babbitt’s relatives. This group, Judicial Watch, claimed the family had previously sought military honors from President Joe Biden’s administration but was refused.
According to a U.S. Air Force spokesperson, after assessing the details surrounding Babbitt’s death, her family was extended the offer of military funeral honors. Babbitt held the rank of senior airman.
The post reposted by Lohmeier included a link to a letter written by the Air Force under secretary to Babbitt’s family, inviting them to visit him at the Pentagon.
“After reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect,” the Aug. 15 letter read.
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