Washington, D.C. — The Trump administration has struck a deal, at least in principle, with the family of Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The agreement, announced in a federal courtroom on May 2, aims to resolve a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt’s family against the government. It’s a case that’s stirred raw emotions, reopening wounds from a day that left five dead and more than 140 officers injured.
Babbitt, a California native and fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump, was among hundreds who stormed the Capitol to protest the certification of the 2020 election results. Around 2:44 p.m. that day, she tried to climb through a shattered window in a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby, a hallway steps from where lawmakers huddled. U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, positioned on the other side, fired a single shot, striking Babbitt in the left shoulder. She fell back, was given aid by a Capitol Police emergency team, and was rushed to Washington Hospital Center, where she died.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2024 by Babbitt’s husband, Aaron, and backed by the conservative group Judicial Watch, claimed Byrd was negligent, alleging Babbitt was unarmed, had her hands raised, and posed no threat. A folding knife was later found in her pocket, according to a D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences report, but no other weapons were noted. The Justice Department, under the Biden administration, had pushed back hard, defending Byrd’s actions as lawful. An internal Capitol Police review in August 2021 cleared Byrd, stating his shot “potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death.” The Justice Department closed its investigation into Byrd in April 2021, finding no grounds for criminal charges.
That stance shifted after Trump’s return to the White House. On February 25, Justice Department lawyers signaled they were working to “narrow or resolve” the case. By March 25, Trump himself, in an interview with Newsmax, said he’d look into settling the lawsuit, calling Babbitt’s death “unthinkable” and “a disgrace.” Now, the settlement’s framework is set, though the dollar amount and final terms remain under wraps. Lawyers for both sides told U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes they hope to finalize the deal within 30 days.
Babbitt’s death has been a lightning rod. To Trump and his supporters, she’s a martyr, a patriot gunned down unjustly. Trump issued clemency to over 1,000 January 6 defendants in January, a move that included pardons for many convicted of violent acts. He’s also forged ties with Babbitt’s mother, Micki Witthoeft, who’s become a vocal advocate for those arrested in the riot. The settlement comes as the Justice Department has pushed to refund restitution payments some rioters made for Capitol damages, a policy shift that’s drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers and officers who faced the mob.
The agreement averts a trial set for July 2026, sparing both sides a public rehashing of that chaotic day. But it’s unlikely to quiet the debate. Capitol Police reported 140 officers wounded in the riot, with one officer, Brian Sicknick, dying of a stroke the next day. Three other Trump supporters died of natural causes during the mayhem, and several officers took their own lives in the months that followed. The settlement’s details, once public, will likely fuel fresh scrutiny of how the government handles the legacy of January 6.
For now, the deal is a step toward closure for Babbitt’s family, though the broader fallout from that day continues to ripple through Washington.