President Donald Trump‘s administration will pay nearly $5 million in a civil lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, the pro-Trump rioter who was shot and killed by police after breaching the U.S. Capitol in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, according to sources familiar with the matter.
How much was the wrongful death lawsuit settlement?
The settlement resolves a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt’s estate and the conservative group Judicial Watch, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the settlement amount.
In early May, lawyers for both parties agreed to settle the suit, but no further details have been reported. However, the judge presiding over the case advised them to update the court on Thursday.
What happened to Ashli Babbitt?
Babbitt, a California native and Air Force veteran, had a Trump flag draped around her neck and attempted to climb through a broken panel leading to the House of Representatives chamber inside the Capitol when she was fatally shot in the shoulder. She was one of four people who died in the attack, per The Washington Post and Blavity.
Her family and the Washington, D.C.-based activist group filed the lawsuit in early 2024, accusing U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd of negligence in her death. They allege she was unarmed with her hands raised when she was shot.
“Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone,” the lawsuit states, per The Washington Post, adding that she did not go to Washington “as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose.”
‘This is extremely disappointing’
Several months after insurrection, the Justice Department concluded its internal investigation, clearing Byrd of any wrongdoing in the shooting of Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riot, according to a report from The Washington Post.
His actions “potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol and to the House Chamber where members and staff were steps away,” Capitol Police said after their investigation.
In 2021, Trump released a statement questioning Byrd’s actions and wondered why he “was getting away with murder.”
After learning of Babbitt’s settlement, U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger released a statement to the department earlier in May.
“This is extremely disappointing and I completely disagree with the Department of Justice’s decision,” Manger wrote, per The Washington Post.
