Lieutenant Who Shot and Killed Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6 Was ‘Doing His Job’: Kevin McCarthy
February 3 | Posted by mrossol | Law, Party Politics, Republican(s)During McCarthy’s weekly press conference at the Capitol, a reporter asked him, “Do you think Ashli Babbitt was murdered, or do you think the police officer who shot her was doing his job?”
McCarthy (R-California) didn’t hesitate: “I think the police officer did his job.”
Babbitt, 35, was shot and killed by then-Lt. Michael Byrd outside the entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby just before 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. A 14-year U.S. Air Force and National Guard veteran, Babbitt was not armed as she started to climb through a broken window leading into the Speaker’s Lobby. Byrd fired a single shot from his Glock 22 service weapon, striking Babbitt in the left anterior shoulder.
‘Ashli Babbitt Was Murdered’: Trump
Aaron Babbitt, Ashli Babbitt’s widower, said he was “very disappointed” with McCarthy’s remarks.
McCarthy’s pronouncement lit up social media on both sides of the issue. “The real Kevin has shown up,” one man wrote on Twitter. “Swamp rat,” said another. Philip Anderson, who was trapped along with Rosanne Boyland in a human stampede on the Lower West Terrace on Jan. 6, said McCarthy is “exposing himself for the absolute RINO, traitor, and coward that he truly is.”
Jan. 6 detractors pounced on the topic. “Finally, a true statement from @SpeakerMcCarthy,” one woman wrote on Twitter. “The officer did his job. She didn’t belong there and posed a threat to officers,” another woman said.
Former President Donald J. Trump ripped the idea that Byrd was just doing his job.
“I totally disagree with the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, in that the police officer ‘thug,’ who has had a very checkered past to begin with, was not just ‘doing his job’ when he shot and killed Great Patriot Ashli Babbitt at point-blank range,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Despite trying to keep him anonymous, shielded and protected, this MISFIT proudly showed up on NBC Fake Nightly News ‘bragging’ about the killing,” Trump wrote late Thursday.
“He was not a hero but a COWARD, who wanted to show how tough he was. ASHLI BABBITT WAS MURDERED!!!”
Murder Under Color of Authority
Byrd’s views on the shooting being justified are far from universal. One of the nation’s top police use-of-force experts said Babbitt was “murdered under the color of authority.” In The Epoch Times documentary, “The Real Story of Jan. 6,” Stan Kephart said Babbitt was not an imminent threat to anyone.
Byrd and other officers could have pulled Babbitt through the window and handcuffed her, or they could have retreated until her intentions became clearer, Kephart said.
Supporters of the Babbitt family have high hopes that a new House investigative panel will examine the shooting, as well as the deaths of Rosanne Boyland, Benjamin Phillips, and Kevin Greeson. The Jan. 6 Select Committee did not investigate the deaths that occurred on Jan. 6.
Witthoeft was not pleased with McCarthy’s statement on the shooting of her daughter.
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