The Capitol Police Officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during her attempt to break into the Speaker’s Lobby on the day of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was exonerated following an internal probe, according to a department memo obtained by NBC News.
In the statement, the Capitol Police’s Office of Personal Responsibility said that “no further action will be taken in this matter.” This follows an investigation by the Justice Department that found the officer was acting in self defense and thus did not violate federal law.
“Officials examined video footage posted on social media, statements from the officer involved and other officers and witnesses to the events, physical evidence from the scene of the shooting, and the results of an autopsy,” an April statement by the Justice Department read. “Based on that investigation, officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.”
Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Members of the far right have called this incident an unjustified killing and criticized the officers involved when just months prior they voiced their support for law enforcement in wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Representative Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, was one of the lawmakers to take this stance.
Despite calling the killings of two Kenosha, Wisconsin Black Lives Matter protesters at the hands of Kyle Rittenhouse “100 percent justified self-defense,” Gosar viewed this instance of gun violence differently, calling the matter “an execution” and accusing the officer who shot Babbitt of “lying in wait.”
Gosar has yet to comment publicly on the exoneration, nor has President Joe Biden.
