The Department of Justice will not press charges against the Capitol police officer who killed Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riots.
Since the January 6th riot, the DOJ has considered whether to bring criminal charges against the officer who killed the 35-year-old Air Force veteran. Babbitt climbed through a broken door during the insurrection, with thousands of other Trump supporters who were attempting to stop the certification of President Biden’s victory.
“Based on that investigation, officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution,” the DOJ said in a statement.
In the video footage showing Babbitt’s final moments, she is seen wearing a stars and stripes backpack and tries to climb through a window in the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol when a gunshot is heard. She is then seen falling backward. Another video shows several people attempting to help the wounded woman. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The officer who fired the shot has not been identified.
DOJ prosecutors say that the investigation found no evidence to support that the officer did not act out of self-defense.
Babbitt was one of five people who died during the riot. One Capitol police officer was killed, and three others suffered medical emergencies.
