Police Officer Cleared on Killing Air Force Vet Ashli Babbitt in Capitol Riot – Reports

WASHINGTON, August 20 (Sputnik) – Capitol Police investigators have cleared the officer who shot dead US Air Force veteran Ashley Babbitt as she was breaking into the US Capitol during the January 6 riot, US media reports said on Friday.

The unidentified officer who shot her was cleared after an internal investigation, NBC News reported, citing an internal departmental interview.

Babbitt, 35, was a 14-year US Air Force veteran who had been decorated during her years of service and who had served in the 2003 Iraq war. After leaving the military Babbitt became a supporter of conspiracy theories including the QAnon group. Outgoing President Donald Trump referred to the police officer who shot her as a murderer.

A right wing protester holds a sign about Ashli Babbitt while participating in a political rally on July 25, 2021 in New York City.

© AFP 2023 / STEPHANIE KEITH

Video of the shooting recorded Babbitt, who was unarmed, in front of a crowd of rioters trying to break through a door that led to where members of Congress were being evacuated on the House of Representatives side of the Capitol building, NBC said. She was shot and killed without any apparent warning.

The Department of Justice announced in April that no charges were being brought against the officer. The exoneration by the Capitol Police wraps up the last remaining investigation into the incident.