The Trump administration has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a woman fatally shot by a Capitol police officer during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Babbitt, 35, was shot while attempting to climb through a window into the House Speaker’s lobby as a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Babbitt’s estate had filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year, seeking $30 million in damages. While the case was slated for trial, the U.S. Department of Justice reversed its stance after Trump’s victory in the November 2024 election, opting to enter into settlement negotiations.
According to The Washington Post, citing two sources familiar with the matter, the settlement will see the government pay nearly $5 million to Babbitt’s family. The Capitol police officer responsible for the shooting was cleared of any wrongdoing, although Trump has consistently claimed the shooting was unjustified and described Babbitt as an “innocent” woman.
Trump supporters have painted Babbitt as a “martyr,” and her wrongful death suit was represented by the conservative group Judicial Watch.
On his first day in office, Trump signed pardons for over 1,500 individuals involved in the Capitol riot, which resulted in more than 140 police officers being injured. The violent assault followed a speech by then-President Trump to tens of thousands of his supporters near the White House, in which he reiterated his false claims of a stolen 2020 election. He encouraged the crowd to march on Congress.
AFP
