Ashli Babbitt settlement: Trump administration agrees to pay family nearly $5M
FILE - Micki Witthoeft, mother of Ashli Babbitt, holding a photograph of her late daughter on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Trump administration has agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit that a woman’s family filed after she was killed in the U.S. Capitol riot.
Who is Ashli Babbitt?
Babbitt was a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from San Diego.
She was shot by a Capitol police officer on Jan. 6, 2021, as she tried to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to an area known as the Speaker’s Lobby as Capitol Police officers were evacuating members of Congress from the chamber.
Ashley Babbitt settlement
The backstory:
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of Babbitt by her family. Babbitt was unarmed when she was shot by a single round in the shoulder.
Dig deeper:
The lawsuit alleged that the plainclothes officer failed to de-escalate the situation and did not give her any warnings or commands before opening fire.
The suit also accused the Capitol Police of negligence, claiming the department should have known that the officer was "prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner."
What they're saying:
"Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone," the lawsuit said.
By the numbers:
The settlement will resolve the $30 million federal lawsuit that Babbitt’s estate filed last year in Washington. The Trump administration has agreed to pay just under $5 million.
That’s according to The Associated Press, who spoke with a person with knowledge of the settlement who insisted on anonymity to discuss terms of a deal that have not been made public. Settlement terms haven't been disclosed in public court filings.
Justice Department spokespeople and two attorneys for the Babbitt family didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
RELATED: Jan. 6 rioters to be released from DC jail after Trump pardons
Who shot Ashli Babbitt?
What we know:
The officer that shot Babbitt was cleared of wrongdoing in 2021, with authorities concluding that he acted in self-defense and in the defense of members of Congress.
The officer’s attorney, Mark Schamel, said at the time that his client was getting "many credible death threats" and other "horrific threats" and was forced from his home because of them.
What we don't know:
Capitol Police, concerned for his safety, have not publicly named the officer.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from The Associated Press, which spoke to an anonymous source familiar with the settlement details. Background information about Babbitt and the Capitol Police officer was taken from previous FOX Television Station reporting and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.