Baller Alert
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
No Result
View All Result
Baller Alert
No Result
View All Result

Capitol Officer Who Shot Ashli Babbitt During January 6 Attack Speaks Out

by Simone
August 26, 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
byrd and babbitt
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Capitol police officer who fatally shot rioter Ashli Babbitt broke his silence Thursday evening during an interview on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

Lt. Michael Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the Capitol Police whose identity had not been revealed until today, does not doubt that he made the right decision that day.

“I know that day I saved countless lives,” Byrd said. Between 60 to 80 House members and staffers were holed up inside, and it was Byrd’s job to protect them.

“I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job,” he added.

When rioters stormed through the Capitol, Byrd and other officers set up a wall of furniture outside the doors.

“If they get through that door, they’re into the House chamber and upon the members of Congress,” Bryd told Holt.

All while barricading the doors, Byrd could hear alarming messages coming in on his police radio. Some of the messages that came through included an officer’s fingertips being blown off and screams from his colleagues under attack by rioters with chemical agents.

“It was literally broadcast over the air,” Byrd said. “I said, ‘OK, this is getting serious.’”

Soon after that, rioters reached the door. In a defensive stance with his gun drawn as rioters smashed the glass doors, Byrd repeatedly asked them to get back. The mob of people pressed on with one individual even trying to climb through the door. Byrd then fired one shot, striking Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and avid Trump supporter, in the shoulder. She later succumbed to the injury.

Since the incident, Byrd, who is Black, claims his life has been turned upside down as he’s received death threats and racist attacks once his name leaked onto right-wing websites. Still, he believes he made the right decision.

“I tried to wait as long as I could,” he told Holt. “I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.”

This past Monday, the Justice Department cleared Byrd of any wrongdoing and said he acted lawfully and within the department’s policy.

“The investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber,” federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Discover more from Baller Alert

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Related Posts

Trump Explodes on Truth Social: “Leave Pam Bondi Alone, Stop Obsessing Over Epstein!”
News

Trump Explodes on Truth Social: “Leave Pam Bondi Alone, Stop Obsessing Over Epstein!”

July 12, 2025

Donald Trump took to Truth Social with a post defending Attorney General Pam Bondi and blasting those he says are...

Trump Blasts Rosie O'Donnell, Suggests Stripping Her Citizenship Over Political Feud
News

Trump Blasts Rosie O’Donnell, Suggests Stripping Her Citizenship Over Political Feud

July 12, 2025

The feud between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell is heating up once again. This time, Trump took to Truth Social...

Marco Rubio’s State Department Layoffs Spark Major Backlash: 1,300 Jobs on the Chopping Block
News

Marco Rubio’s State Department Layoffs Spark Major Backlash: 1,300 Jobs on the Chopping Block

July 12, 2025

While Secretary of State Marco Rubio continued his diplomatic tour across Asia, back in Washington, the State Department he leads...

Federal Judge Halts Trump-Era Immigration Raids in California Over Racial Profiling Allegations
News

Federal Judge Halts Trump-Era Immigration Raids in California Over Racial Profiling Allegations

July 11, 2025

A federal judge has ordered a halt to widespread immigration sweeps across seven Southern California counties, including Los Angeles, after...

Next Post
Think You’ve Got What It Takes? BET Experience Open Casting Call Returns This June

The 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards Will Be Returning In Person

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Baller News

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

* indicates required

Follow Us

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

© Copyright 2024, Baller Alert Inc. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
%d