The long-awaited tort action from the family of Ashli Babbitt has now been filed in Southern California. Babbitt was shot and killed on Jan. 6th and her family is seeking $30 million in a wrongful death action. Equally important, the lawsuit could force additional answers to why Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot and killed the unarmed protester as she attempted to climb through a window near the House Chamber. I have previously raised concerns over the shooting as conflicting with governing standards on the use of lethal force. I also noted contradictions in Byrd’s own statements and the government’s conclusion that this was a justified killing. The complaint below adds some troubling facts to these prior concerns.
Babbitt, 35, was an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter who participated in the riot three years ago. She was clearly committing criminal acts of trespass, property damage, and other offenses. However, the question is whether an officer is justified in shooting a protester when he admits that he did not see any weapon before discharging his weapon.
Just to recap what we previously discussed in the earlier column:
When protesters rushed to the House chamber, police barricaded the chamber’s doors; Capitol Police were on both sides, with officers standing directly behind Babbitt. Babbitt and others began to force their way through, and Babbitt started to climb through a broken window. That is when Byrd killed her.
At the time, some of us familiar with the rules governing police use of force raised concerns over the shooting. Those concerns were heightened by the DOJ’s bizarre review and report, which stated the governing standards but then seemed to brush them aside to clear Byrd.
The DOJ report did not read like any post-shooting review I have read as a criminal defense attorney or law professor. The DOJ statement notably does not say that the shooting was clearly justified. Instead, it stressed that “prosecutors would have to prove not only that the officer used force that was constitutionally unreasonable, but that the officer did so ‘willfully.’” It seemed simply to shrug and say that the DOJ did not believe it could prove “a bad purpose to disregard the law” and that “evidence that an officer acted out of fear, mistake, panic, misperception, negligence, or even poor judgment cannot establish the high level of intent.”
While the Supreme Court, in cases such as Graham v. Connor, has said that courts must consider “the facts and circumstances of each particular case,” it has emphasized that lethal force must be used only against someone who is “an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and … is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” Particularly with armed assailants, the standard governing “imminent harm” recognizes that these decisions must often be made in the most chaotic and brief encounters.
Under these standards, police officers should not shoot unarmed suspects or rioters without a clear threat to themselves or fellow officers. That even applies to armed suspects who fail to obey orders. Indeed, Huntsville police officer William “Ben” Darby was convicted for killing a suicidal man holding a gun to his own head. Despite being cleared by a police review board, Darby was prosecuted, found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison, even though Darby said he feared for the safety of himself and fellow officers. Yet law professors and experts who have praised such prosecutions in the past have been conspicuously silent over the shooting of an unarmed woman who had officers in front of and behind her on Jan. 6.
Byrd went public soon after the Capitol Police declared “no further action will be taken” in the case. He proceeded to demolish the two official reviews that cleared him.
Byrd described how he was “trapped” with other officers as “the chants got louder” with what “sounded like hundreds of people outside of that door.” He said he yelled for all of the protesters to stop: “I tried to wait as long as I could. I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers.”
Byrd could just as well have hit the officers behind Babbitt, who was shot while struggling to squeeze through the window.
Of all of the lines from Byrd, this one stands out: “I could not fully see her hands or what was in the backpack or what the intentions are.” So, Byrd admitted he did not see a weapon or an immediate threat from Babbitt beyond her trying to enter through the window. Nevertheless, Byrd boasted, “I know that day I saved countless lives.” He ignored that Babbitt was the one person killed during the riot. (Two protesters died of natural causes and a third from an amphetamine overdose; one police officer died the next day from natural causes, and four officers have committed suicide since then.) No other officers facing similar threats shot anyone in any other part of the Capitol, even those who were attacked by rioters armed with clubs or other objects.
The complaint below has some interesting additional facts. For example, it alleges that Babbitt’s hands were in plain sight and empty.
“Ashli could not have seen Lt. Byrd, who was positioned far to Ashli’s left and on the opposite side of the doors, near an opening to the Retiring Room, a distance of approximately 15 feet and an angle of approximately 160 degrees. Sgt. Timothy Lively, one of the armed officers guarding the lobby doors from the hallway, later told officials investigating the shooting, “I saw him . . . there was no way that woman would’ve seen that.” Lt. Byrd, who was not in uniform, did not identify himself as a police officer or otherwise make his presence known to Ashli. Lt. Byrd did not give Ashli any warnings or commands before shooting her dead.”
That is significant. There were officers in front, behind, and to the sides of Babbitt but she was given no warning and likely did not see Byrd pointing his weapon at her.
However, the most interesting allegation is this one:
“At 2:45 p.m., or within one minute after shooting Ashli, Lt. Byrd made the following radio call: 405B. We got shots fired in the lobby. We got shots shots fired in the lobby of the House chamber. Shots are being fired at us and we’re sh, uhh, prepared to fire back at them. We have guns drawn. Please don’t leave that end. Don’t leave that end. Approximately 35 seconds later, Lt. Byrd made another radio call, stating, “405B. We got an injured person. I believe that person was shot.” In fact, no shots were fired at Lt. Byrd or his fellow officers. The only shot fired was the single shot Lt. Byrd fired at Ashli. He heard the loud noise of the gunshot. He saw her fall backwards from the window frame.”
So Byrd allegedly gave a false report of shots being fired after he shot Babbitt.
Here are the seven counts (the second count on negligence is the most detailed and multifaceted):
COUNT I Assault and Battery (Intentional Shooting and Killing of Ashli by Lt. Byrd – ESTATE OF ASHLI BABBITT)
COUNT II Negligence (Lt. Byrd – ESTATE OF ASHLI BABBITT)
COUNT III Negligence (Timothy Lively, Kyle Yetter, Christopher Lanciano Steven Robbs, Don Smith, Brandon Sikes, Mike Brown Jason Gandolph – ESTATE OF ASHLI BABBITT)
COUNT IV Negligent Supervision, Discipline, and Retention of Lt. Byrd (Capitol Police, Capitol Police Board, et al. – ESTATE OF ASHLI BABBITT)
COUNT V Negligent Training (Capitol Police, Capitol Police Board, et al. – ESTATE OF ASHLI BABBITT)
COUNT VI Survival Action (Assault and Battery; Negligence; Negligent Supervision, Discipline, and Retention; Negligent Training – ESTATE OF ASHLI BABBITT)
COUNT VII Wrongful Death (Assault and Battery; Negligence; Negligent Supervision, Discipline, and Retention; Negligent Training – AARON BABBITT)
The complaint, in my view, raises credible allegations that warrant serious review. The Justice Department is likely to seek threshold grounds for dismissal, but the case could offer needed answers to a number of questions. Many of us were not satisfied with the review of the government of the shooting. Discovery would allow for a new review of the underlying record.
The family is being represented by Judicial Watch.
Here is the complaint: Babbitt v. United States
Next up: Lanny Davis defends Byrd, does damage control for Capitol Police and Pelosi. News at 10.
Particiating in the riot. She was clearly committing criminal acts of trespass, property damage, and other offenses.
Since when do conservatives side with CRIMINALS committing CRIMINAL ACTS????????????????????
She brought this on herself. The lawsuit should lead to NO payout.
WTH. This woman was unarmed. You can’t shoot and kill a person for trespassing. What other offenses did she commit? So if someone is breaking into your home, you just start shooting and maybe it’s a family member. Oops. You gonna go to jail. Michael Byrd lied immediately after he murdered Ashli Babbitt about he and other officers being fired on. Just think for a minute if it was one of your family members.
Well… George Floyd brought his problems on himself . Is that your logic? Although she wasn’t a lifetime criminal or druggy
Ashli Babbit was unarmed. The video of Byrd aiming his gun directly at her when he could’ve fired in the air is very telling! He had previous problems being a ‘hot head’. She was a retired Air Force Veteran not a Criminal. This entire J6 was orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi and her ‘ilk’. Watch the video of the people peacefully being invited into the Capitol by the Capitol Police. Where’s the video that showed the 2 busses pulling up with federal agents in plain clothes being handed MAGA hats and trump flags. I saw it but now it’s mysteriously disappeared. How about the fed that was out of uniform, just like his cohorts, carrying a huge confederate flag. He later testified in uniform in a hearing crying about how terrible it was.
The action by Capitol police to kill Babbitt was not justifiable. She wasn’t armed. It’s not about any pitical party alignment. IT was just wrong. Very wrong and the officer is being protected instead of put on trial. Meanwhile thousands are on trial without reason.
Let me get this straight. Woman in an unauthorized area – with people behind her – coming at law enforcement with the job of protecting people inside Congress. She is shot and killed after a warning. Unarmed.
Flip side -man disobeying police actions after car stop – running away and shot in the back and killed . Unarmed.
If you have a problem with the first one, you must have a problem with the second?
According to this article, Officer Michael Byrd never gave Ashli Babbitt any warnings. He never identified himself as a police officer and he was in plain clothing. No she should not have been there but she was unarmed and had no warning from Michael Byrd that he was a police officer. He also lied about being shot at. No one was shooting except Michael Byrd. He murdered Ashli Babbitt.
She WAS NOT WARNED. Your hypothesis is incorrect.
There’s video of this. She’s warned that Byrd was pointing a gun at her.
I find it so odd… how we can’t review each case as its own. They’re not all the same. And to believe so is embarrassing
officer byrd was & is an evile government turrd. maybe?
No maybe about it. He’s a murderer. Got away with it too.
Allegation 1 “He shot and intentionally killed (Babbitt)…” will not stand up to the fact that he shot her in the collarbone area, not considered an intentional kill shot. The bullet richocheted into her neck. That random occurrence has been transmuted into “intent to kill” by zealots working the court of public opinion. But, it will not stand up to scrutiny in a court of law. Byrd’s intent was to deter the mob outside the window from forcibly entering the House Chamber, as was his duty that day. He was doing his job under a situation of extreme duress, caused by Pres. Trump. plotting to stop the Congress from counting Biden as the EC winner, enlisting mob action to do so at the Ellipse, and escalating that endeavor at 2:24pm in a tweet condemning VP Pence for not doing his bidding to mickey the EC count. The Babbitts should be suing DJT for reckless endangerment.
That’s a convoluted defense; “intent” is assumed when the weapon is pointed at any area of the body that would result in a mortal wound, not the actual point of contact by the bullet. Even an incompetent attorney would make a mockery of your reasoning.
My understanding is that this gun shot was at about 6′ range. That distance allows for more accurate aiming than 10′ or 20′. Shooting someone in the shoulder / collarbone region is a disabling shot, known to disable use of the arm on that side. It is usually always a survivable wound. But, I’m guessing about Byrd’s mental state.
Only he knows what he was seeing/thinking when he fired his weapon that day.
My point is that claiming he intended to kill Babbitt is speculative, and not going to be easy to establish as fact in court.
Must have gotten paid $500 for that lame excuse. He shot and killed an unarmed person.
PbincA, your mind reading is all over the place.
Who claimed Byrd was a good shot? Further, he was shooting from the side, so a slight movement by her could easily change the location of the impact. The key is he had no reason to shoot and kill Babbitt. It was not a good shoot, and the police ended up in jail based on less.
“Byrd’s intent was to deter the mob outside the window”
That is mind-reading on your part. Do you use Tarot Cards?
“He was doing his job under a situation of extreme duress”
He was standing off to the side, and other police were in the room. Additionally, there were police on Babbitt’s side of the door. Any time a policeman is called to duty, there is duress, but we know what the left thinks of the police until they kill someone protesting the left.
What Trump did was legal. It was the left’s illegalities that created the situation.
“The Babbitts should be suing DJT for reckless endangerment.”
TDS Gone Wild.
Trump was not at the protest. In fact, he arrived late to his rally and the protest and insurrection has already started. It was all orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi and the Obama democrats. Nancy implored the antifa domestic terrorists. They are so happy about, they will use J6 for many elections to come. Joe is not going to win re-election. And it’s won’t be because of J6. It will be because he is the sorriest, worse president in American history. The Babbitts are suing the correct people. Did you even read the article?
Since when did quelling a riot by shooting and killing people become acceptable?
They must pay Turley a lot of money to spin the facts. There is one univesal, undeniable truth underlying January 6th: DONALD J. TRUMP, the chronic, habitual liar, whose lies resulted in over 800 prison sentences for his devoted fans for invading our Capitol and the death of Ashli Babbitt. It cannot be seriously disputed that none of those who converged on the Capitol on January 6th would have done so BUT FOR Trump’s ego-driven Big Lie. Turley refers to Babbitt as an “unarmed protester”–but WHY did she need to cross the Police barricade, break into the Capitol and break a window and climb through in order to “protest”? And WHAT was she “protesting”? The fact that the pig she worshipped got put out of office and that Mike Pence couldn’t be bullied to take unlawful action to try to keep the pig in power? WHAT lawful purpose did she have in climbing through a broken window, despite the fact that the entryway was barricaded and gurded by law enforcement officers with drawn guns? And HOW were the officers on the other side supposed to know whether she was or was not armed? She had no right to climb through a window at the last barrier to the floor of the House. No right whatsoever. She was a trespasser engaging in an illegal riot in which the rioters were calling for the VP to be assassinated. This mob had already attacked police officers with bear spray, batons, flag poles and some were wearing riot gear. There can be little doubt that this angry mob intended to harm members of Congress if they could get to them, all to try to force them to keep Trump in power. Officers who were guarding the last barrier to the floor of the House were justified in using lethal force–it stopped further incursions didn’t it? Three years later, dozens of recounts, re-recounts, audits and investigations prove that Trump is a big, fat liar. To the extent anyone owes the Babbits money, it is Trump. Her case will go nowhere. It’s truly sad that she was gullible enough to believe a chronic, habitual liar and that she paid for her ignorance with her life, but the fault doesn’t lie with those who were carrying out their duty to guard members of Congress. When you force your way through a broken window with police officers on the other side with weapons drawn, what do you expect?
Nothing but the truth, so help you God. Reality can be scarce here from time to time.
Get some facts before regurgitating the left wing media and corrupt democrat BS.
BLM/Antifa riots = 2 dozen dead and $1B+ in damages
‘DOJ FBI is using gangs to terrorize people. They’re using terrorist gangs for a color revolution (BLM Hamas), and a modern MKULTRA program of mass shootings to terrorize the public to demand gun confiscation. FBI DOJ then rounds up Americans one-by-one for false prosecutions.’ @Cernovich
https://www.glennbeck.com/obama-administration-plan-color-revolution?rebelltitem=1
You are so right. I would like to know exactly how many George Floyd rioters have been arrested and convicted with long sentences. What’s fair for the gander. Kamala Harris should be impeached for bailing them out and encouraging them to keep rioting. Her quote, “they will not stop, and they should not.” That said by the vice president of the United States. She was inciting rioting but I guess that was OK. What a crock.
Gigi, once again pretending to be offended, and his/her morals and standards outraged, sez They must pay Turley a lot of money to spin the facts. There is one univesal, undeniable truth underlying January 6th: DONALD J. TRUMP, the chronic, habitual liar,
The Big Guy, The Pathological Liar in the White House, must be paying Gigi a daily retainer to come here lyin’ like a proud Biden. After all, if Gigi were offended by lies… he would be posting on a daily basis that his standards and morals feel violated every time Bribery Biden, The Grifter In Chief, tells another lie. In fact, Gigi would have been in a daily froth of outrage as he watched Bolshevik Barack and Bribery Biden trying to outdo each other as the bigger, fatter pathological liar in the eight years prior to Trump even running for president.
Where was Gigi and his/her fine moral standards on lying for those eight years before Trump and Trump Derangement Syndrome became an excuse for commie Democrats engaged in police state fascism?
Gigi got outraged when 13 Marines were killed in Kabul and Bribery Biden swore to the American public not a single American military officer advised him against deserting Americans in Afghanistan? Or does Gigi believe The Big Guy, The Coward Of Benghazi and Kabul?
Does anyone see the execrable Gigi perpetually outraged and those fine morals and standards of his offended as The Big Guy continues to lie that nobody in the Biden family made a dollar off the ChiComs?
When it comes to Gigi’s “big fat liars” – they don’t make liars bigger and more obese than Gigi – lying in defense of his boss The Big Guy – the serial pathological liar in the White House, the biggest fat liar since HIS boss, Bolshevik Barack was in the White House.
Gigi, once again … and his/her/it’s/??? morals …
I don’t even know how to reply to this. Ashli Babbitt was murdered. She was not armed. She should not have been there but she didn’t deserve to die for climbing into a window. Your logic is so evil, just like the democrats evil witch hunts. Pelosi arranged the whole thing that day to ruin Trump. Trump was not there at the capitol. Secret Service can verity that. FJB.
It is apparent that this killing was intentional, unjustified, and no serious investigation was performed.
I saw the unredacted version of the internal investigation (in fact, the ONLY “investigation) before it was withdrawn and replaced by a heavily redacted copy. It looked as though it was scratched out in an hour. It was entirely pathetic, one-sided, and clearly false in nature.
The federal “investigation” simply closed a couple weeks later repeating a couple of key sentences.
This was an intentional, brutal slaying of a woman who did not pose any threat, whatsoever. And a cover-up by the Pelosi Regime. Which should, itself be an investigation.
There was a video of the act. How much of an “investigation” does it take to look at a video? The facts are not in dispute.
@Sammy, the facts are always in dispute until you get a judgement at the end of a trial.
Now I agree with everyone one here that it should be a slam dunk case of wrongful death and they should win.
However this is DC that we’re talking about and to them… the law is whatever they say it is.
-G
Perhaps Ashli Babbitt will accomplish more in death (R.I.P.) through this lawsuit than she would have imagined accomplishing by her protest on Jan. 6. Let us hope that the judge(es) that oversee this lawsuit have the courage to follow the law as it relates to discovery in a civil lawsuit. “The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.” — the motto engraved on the cornice of the Supreme Court building in lower Manhattan.
WHAT was she “protesting “, and WHY did she invade the Capitol and try to climb through a broken window in order to do it? Calling her disregard of the commands of law enforcement and proceeding to climb through a broken window despite the fact that there were officers with guns drawn on the other side some kind of “protest “ is a lie. She left the police no choice but to shoot her, and her death is her own fault—the result of extremely poor judgment. The driving force behind her stupid decision is DJT. And, BTW, Judicial Watch is behind the lawsuit, which will go nowhere.
“She left the police no choice but to shoot her…”
Wrong. There were cops behind her on the outside, there were other cops on this inside near Byrd.
Byrd had other choices. He chose to shoot first.
Then Byrd lied on his radio call about what was happening immediately after he shot Babbitt dead.
Byrd killed her with a single gun shot when HE could have made other choices to AVOID murdering her.
But Byrd has been protected by Pelosi all this time.
Absolutely nothing will happen to Byrd.
He’s got Pelosi’s protection racket in his corner.
Pelosi herself should be charged with insurrection — SHE’s the criminal.
Pelosi is a liar and a sociopath.
Charge Pelosi for masterminding the J6 “insurrection”….and then LYING about it.
Pelosi should be prosecuted for insider trading while they’re at it.
Pile on the charges for the criminal pyscopath named Nancy Pelosi.
Add obstruction, and destruction of evidence to Pelosi’s prosecution.
Prosecute Pelosi for Insider trading.
Prosecute Pelosi for her Failure to secure the Capitol.
Prosecute Pelosi for scheming to Entrap innocent citizens.
Prosecute Pelosi for her crimes against citizens of the United States of America.
Put Pelosi UNDER OATH.
Then prosecute Pelosi for the lying criminal POS she is and has always been.
People need to understand that WE are seen as the ‘enemies of state’ now.
WE the people, are being targeted BY our own government.
Biden is calling us ‘extremists’ and ‘criminals’ and ‘insurrectionists’.
Biden’s government is calling us ‘domestic terrorists.’
Biden’s government is censoring and silencing WE the people, trampling our 1st Amendment right.
Citizens are being framed and setup BY the government.
Innocent citizens are being denied their rights, unjustly held in prison as political prisoners, and framed by the United States government.
Wake up, people. This is war.
HOW MANY cops had been battered, bear-sprayed and beaten so that Babbitt could get to the last barrier to the House floor, where she died due to her own poor judgment and choice to proceed despite police officers with guns pointed at her? IMHO, the shooting should have started when the loser fans of the election loser broke through the barricades outside the Capitol. The Capitol Police should have announced that anyone proceeding past the barricades will be assumed to be on a mission to kill VP Pence and/or members of Congress, and if they proceed further, lethal force would be used to protect the VP and members of Congress. Then, they should have made good on this threat–shooting the first loser who proceeded nevertheless. THAT would have stopped the insurrection. The loser fans of the election loser WERE chanting “hang Pence”, they battered and assaulted police offiers and they ignored police commands, so the use of lethal force would be justified. AND, how on earth could anyone believe that battering police officers and breaking through barriers, smashing windows, breaking down doors and urinating and defecating in the Capitol are part and parcel of “protesting”? Again, WHAT were they allegedly “protesting”–nonexistent election fraud because they believed Trump’s lies? There was never any good-faith basis for what happened on Jan. 6th–it was Trump’s last stand–last gasp effort to force Congress to allow him to stay in power after frivolous lawsuits, threats and intimidation directed toward Pence and Secretaries of State failed and multiple investigations and recounts did not turn up any proof that the election was or could have been rigged.
Nancy Pelosi had nothing whatsoever to do with J6–she is not in charge of the Capitol Police or the National Guard. HOW is it her fault that the dumbaxxes who believed Trump’s lies battered and assaulted police officers and broke into the Capitol? How twisted does your thinking have to be to believe this? J6 would not have happened but for Trump’s ego-driven lie about nonexistent fraud and the gullibility of the fans of the election loser.
Former Capitol Police Chief Sund’s book “Courage Under Fire” makes it clear that Pelosi’s office denied Sund backup that he requested for days after he initially requested it and for hours after the Capitol was broken into. I strongly suspect that Dems (and very likely RINOs as well) wanted both the break-in and at least one death, and that Byrd did what he knew his bosses wanted.
Pelosi’s office was in the chain of command above the Capitol Police. Read the book “Courage Under Fire” by former Capitol Police Chief Sund.
You are so right. Pelosi orchestrated the whole thing. Byrd never identified himself as an officer. He was also in plain clothing. He murdered Ashli Babbitt in cold blood, got away with it, then got a promotion. Had the races been reversed, he would be in prison for life.
The cowards that make up the Capitol Police let them in the building to begin with! In some cases WAIVED them in. The whole thing was a Dimunist/FBI setup (Ray Epps where ARE you? Botox Nancy Piglosi, where WERE you?). And how would one know that the murderer, Michael Byrd, was an officer anyway? Not only was this racist criminal not in uniform, he gave no warning before opening fire and killing an alleged trespasser. In law enforcement practice, that is a big no-no. There were numerous other options that could have been taken. Obviously, Mr. Trump had absolutely no involvement in that horrific, deadly option taken to quell the situation. Gigi, without a doubt, you are one morally twisted SOB! A warning: TDS is terminal—turn off CNN and seek help for that affliction!
OT: Humorous look at the truth.
@Seth,
This is what SNL could be if it wasn’t so woke.
They have done some very funny skits on this whole sheet.[sic]
-G
Bryrd’s Story Is A Profile In Courage
Ashli Babbit understood that chamber was heavily restricted. Congresspeople were sheltering inside.
Which explains why the mob was hovering at that door. They were contemplating a seizure of hostages. But getting that door open would require a brave soldier.
Babbit, a military veteran, volunteered her light, female body for the mission of slipping through the door’s broken window.
Babbit calculated that the officers inside wouldn’t have the heart to shoot a woman. And she would use their reluctance to an advantage; slipping all the way in and opening the door.
But Lieutenant Michael Bryrd realized any hesitation could lead to a hostage situation. Where ‘he’, Lieutenant Bryrd, would be held responsible for letting the mob enter.
With that vision in mind, Bryrd bravely opened fire, knowing Babbitt’s death could greatly incite the mob. They might still get in and lynch Lieutenant Bryrd!
So it required tremendous courage to open fire on Babbit.
Byrd’s courage paid-off. No hostages were siezed. An American nightmare had been averted! Members of Congress weren’t hostage to a mob.
That would’ve been a coup by any spin!
Therefore to say Babbitt’s life was more important than a hostage crisis is treasonous nonsense. No one but MAGA maniacs think Babbitt’s a hero.
Ashli Babbitt – 3 years MAGA free!!
“Saint George Floyd of Fentanyl”…..crime- and drug-free for over three years! Back to mommy’s dark, dank basement, maskurbator!
No one thinks Ashli Babbitt was a hero.
Everyone knows that Ashli Babbitt was an unarmed female much weaker than a male and one who would have been easily apprehended and subdued.
Michael Byrd is a pitiful and disgusting coward in whose heart Ashli Babbitt struck fear.
What a ——- pansy.
So there was no mob behind Ashli Babbitt? And she couldn’t possibly have opened the door to let the mob in?
Tell us how Lieutenant Bryrd know there was nothing to fear.
It doesn’t matter if he was afraid or not. That is not the standard.
No one in that small group which included one ANTIFA member, and cops behind them were looking to kidnap anyone.
If only anything you claim was true.
Very little about the Capitol is Highly restricted. Much of it is public. What is not public is mostly accessible to the public in one way or the other.
The capitol is NOT the same as the WH. Very little that is classified takes place there. The offices of representatives and senators and their staffs are all PUBLIC.
Generally people are not allowed on the floor of the house or the senate, or in the speakers lobby – but these are not highly secure locations. Ordinary people hcan easily get access.
No Senators and Representatives were not cowering in a corner with only Byrd to protect them from an armed violent mob.
They were not present in the speakers lobby at all when Babbit entered.
But equally important – in what world is it that our representatives need protection from voters ?
If our senators and representatives are cowering in fear of voters – there is a big problem – and it is NOT with the voters.
Regardless, the FACT is that Byrd was defending an empty room, from rowdy and unarmed protestors.
Had in fact the speakers lobby been FILLED with senators and representatives, Byrd’s actions would STILL be murder.
The use of deadly force in defense of others requires an actual threat to life or limb.
An unarmed gaggle of rowdy protestors is NOT a threat justifying the use of deadly force.
Byrd is not a hero – he is a reckless incompetent fool.
We had protestors in Portland at the Federal Courthouse.
They threw frozen water bottles.
They threw rocks, they used lasers to blind the police,
They fired fireworks at police at close range.
They threw molotov cocktails.
They broke windows, destoryed proerty.
They were far far far more violent than J6 protestors.
They did this every single night for more than 4 months.
Not a single one was shot. I do not beleive the police fired a gun ONCE at any of them.
The use of deadly force by the police is NOT determined by the politics of those engaged in protest.
Wheher you are a member of Antifa, or the Proud Boys, your right to protest is the same,
and law enforcements right to respond with force is ALWAYS dictated by your CONDUCT not your beleifs.
Had Babbit being manically weilding a gun or a knife AND had congressmen actually been present – Byrd’s actions would be legal.
But they STILL would not be heroic. It is not heroism for a police office to do their job correctly. It is heroism when there is a substantial threat to their own life. The only threat to life at the capitol on J6 was posed by Byrd – not Babbit, not protestors.
Excellent summation, my friend!
Nice story – but that is all it is – a story.
We get this from those of you on the left all the time.
False naratives. Unwillingness to conform your arguments to reality.
The only people with guns – Thousands of them on J6 were the Capitol police.
The only people who came to the capitol armed and prepared for a fight – where the capitol police.
You left wing nut idiots continue this stupid J6 is an insurection nonsense.
On January 6th, there were abut 2200CP officers -= most of home were armed. They came with batons, sheilds, helmets, semi-automatic pistols, Tear Gas Grenades and mortars, rubber bullets, bean bag guns. In addition there were about 1500 Metro police officers on the Capitol grounds – about 10% of whom were undercover, All of whom were armed. Approximately 15minutes away in the DC armory were 10,000 DC national Guardsmen. Locked and loaded, Pre-authorized by the DOD at Trump’s request. Needing only permission from Pelosi or Schumer to come to the capitol.
Every single protestor on the capitol grounds KNEW most of that.
And you left wing nut idiots expect people to beleive that a couple of thousand people – who did NOT bring any defensive or offensive weapons was their to by FORCE over power all the armed froces arrayed against them, hold Congress hostage and make Trump president by their own authority ?
Do you people THINK about your idiotic claims ?
You can be offended by J6.
You can rant that it was a protest that got out of hand.
We can debate how much it actually got out of hand -= though the EVIDENCE is that it was far less of a riot than any day in 2020 in Portland.
What you can not do is MAGICALLY manufacture an insurection out of it.
You create this idiotic claim that Babbit is preparing to take congressmen hostage.
Babbit is 100lbs dripping wet. She was unarmed. She was no threat to anyone.
Behind her were more protestors AS WELL AS 4 CP officers armed with automatic weapons.
So in your world the dimunutive Babbit is going to crowl through the broken window – open the door to the dozen or so protestors behind her, and with their bare hands overpower 5 CP officers all armed, 4 with automatic weapons, and break down multiple other doors to take Pelosi hostage ?
You are Bat Schiff crazy.
sounds good until you read the radio calls
The above is as dumb a comment as one can get. Was this written after two bottles or three?
Good summary, except Byrd did not aim to kill. He aimed to wound in the collarbone area. He is not responsible for the bullet randomly richocheting into the neck area. The facts suggest he shot to wound.
That was one of the first facts to be mangled to support the demonization of Officer Byrd.
A 9 mm hollow point bullet to the collarbone is an ‘aim to maim’ shot? And the shooter is not responsible for the bullet ‘randomly richocheting’? Do you have any grasp of guns, ballistics, or even anatomy? That is a kill shot, dummy! Lt Byrd—now promoted to captain for his murderous action—at the very least, should have taken our demented idiot-in-chief’s advice, “Just shoot ’em in the leg, man….not a joke!”
Derek Chauvin was preposterously charged with murder for following department policy he had been trained in, employing a restraint procedure that had been used 247 times in Minneapolis with no deaths.
The brave and courageous Michael Byrd shot and killed the unarmed Ashli Babbitt in lieu of attempting to physically restrain the much smaller and weaker female.
What at man, what really big man!
@George…
Anyone with some basic common sense and could read the pathology report and do a wee bit of research could tell you the Floyd was already dying.
It started when he was put in the back of the SUV, before Chauvin was on scene.
There are articles that talk about the level of fentanyl that becomes toxic. Depending on where the blood was drawn, he was at that level, or close to it.
Added in his health conditions… he was a goner.
The only thing Chauvin could have done was to call an ambulance sooner so he could have coded on his way to the hospital.
The feds piled on the charges so that Chauvin couldn’t appeal. He had to take a plea deal w the feds.
Only in MN where you can go to jail for doing your job.
-G
I would suggest watching “mineapolis burning”. It does an excellent job of detailing everything from Floyds attempt to pass a counterfeit $20, through the arrival of officers. There is security camera footage, as well as body cams and dash cams on all the officers and all the police cars. The documentation of events is thorough.
And based on one cell phone video from a bystander with an axe to grind, and a jury that saw NONE of the body cam or security cam viceo,
as well as MPD brass that LIED on the stand and an autopsey report that was altered after the fact.
Chauvin was convicted. For doing what ? Exactly what MPD policy directs.
Floyd was restrained and put on the ground waiting for paramedics, BECAUSE he refused to get into the police car to be transported, and successfuly resisted the efforts of 4 officers none of whom were small – except in comparison to Floyd.
There was negligence on the part of Mineapolis that contributed to Flyods death.
That was sending the EMT’s who were stationed 2 minutes away to the wrong location delaying them by 20min.
BTW Floyd had TRIPPLE the lethal dose of both Fentanyl and Meth as well as many other drugs in his system when he died.
Even the allegedly daming video – Chauvin never had his foot on Floyd’s neck.
Byrd did not have to do ANYTHING. The few straggling congressmen had existed the lobby and were behind another locked door.
The last exited several seconds before the CP officers on Babbits side of the door moved away from the doors to allow protestors to get through.
Uh, George, there was a door, barricaded with furniture, that didn’t stop poor widdle Ashli Babbit, the “much smaller and weaker female”, who believed Trump’s lies and was determined to get to the floor of the House. WHAT did she think was going to happen if she got to the floor of the House? That Congress would say: “OK, you must be right–we’ll just let Trump continue being president and we’ll just discard the CERTIFIED vote counts from the 50 states”? Not at all–she and the others intended to take the floor of the House by force and to harm members of Congress and Mike Pence unless they refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory, because that’s what Trump wanted. Her death is due to her gulllible belief in the lies of Donald J. Trump and some form of ill-fated bravado. Who in their right mind, when they are already trespassing, would proceed past a police barricade when there were guns pointed at her? When you keep going despite the fact that guns are pointed at you after you are warned to stop, when you get shot, it’s your own fault. How anyone can twist what happened into anything else is beyond me. She had NO right to be there. She had NO right to proceed through the broken window and was warned to stop, but chose not to. Her presence in the Capitol was illegal–she was a trespasser. She was there to commit other crimes involviing the VP and/or members of Congress, driven by a fanatical belief in a pathological liar. How on earth anyone can blame anyone other than Trump for Jan 6th is stunning to me.
Pence’s political days are over. He literally destroyed his own career. The video tapes were released which gave Ashli’s attorney’s for her estate a chance to see what happened and yes murder charges can go back onto the table with new evidence. Pence should’ve kept his mouth shut but could resist the urge to out himself…
Pentagrams political days are over. He literally killed his own career. The video tapes were released which gave Ashli’s attorney’s for her estate a chance to see what happened and yes murder charges can go back onto the table with new evidence. Pence should’ve kept his mouth shut but could resist the urge to out himself…
Pence is in Tel Aviv and was simply answering questions from Jake Tapper first about his trip there and then about J6. I thought both parts of the interview were interesting.
I was an 1811 Criminal Investigator/Special Agent for 37 years, 22 of that in the USSS. I was a Firearms Instructor and conducted refresher Use-of-Force training. Lt. Byrd’s use of deadly force was Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. I still look forward to his criminal prosecution, as homicide has no statute of limitations. My personal opinion is that the shooting was negligent and unintended, the result of improperly having his finger on the trigger when he had no justification to shoot, which is contrary to current law enforcement training.
There were security personnel proximate to Babbitt on her side of the wall and door, and they inexplicably ignored her presence and actions, and abandoned her, leaving the scene.
Why didn’t the brave and courageous woman killer, Michael Byrd, do the same?
Would it be different if the victim was Black and the officer was White? I think so. An unavoidable question.
I KNOW so…..100%
Thank you. I am not sure about the unintended part. I think Byrd intended to fire.
I do not think he thought about whether firing was justified. I do not think he thought about the training he supposedly had.
Byrd was also reckless. He is very lucky he did not hit one of the CP officers on the other side of the door.
He fired at an angle that had them in his line of fire behind her.
He also clearly did not have control of his weapon – or he was poorly trained, because at close range he missed center of mass and barely clipped her in the neck. Again – risking hitting someone else.
There is lots of evidence that Byrd is reckless and incompetent – from events BEFORE J6.
“I think Byrd intended to fire.” “I do not think he thought about whether firing was justified.”
That is why I want Byrd charged. I want discovery. Pre-event, I would like to know if some of the Capitol Police had special prompting to make them more reckless than usual in order to create more of a disturbance. Pelosi desired such a disturbance, and some of her actions boosted such suspicions. Listen to the rhetoric.
Note that Byrd was/is a BLM sympathizer…..in on other words, a violent racist.
You are correct about BLM, and I don’t believe he is intelligent. Therefore, how much direct or indirect prompting would make him trigger happy?
Take Trump’s name out of this “equation” and this entire conversation changes.
Take trump‘s name out of the equation, and there would never have been a January 6 riot
Take the FBI employees, FBI snitches, and other law enforcement sponsored agitators out of the equation and there wouldn’t have been a riot or a killing. This whole thing was an orchestrated event and the main culprits are Nancy Pelosi and Christopher Wray.
Today’s news report: Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday denounced the debunked conspiracy theory that the FBI instigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
“I just must tell you, having been there that day, to see people literally breaking windows, ransacking the Capitol, it just infuriated me. I remember thinking ‘not this, not here, not at the United States Capitol,’” he said.
Pence added he is “very grateful” for the FBI’s efforts to arrest to arrest those who “ransacked our Capitol and did violence against police officers that day,” demanding those who participated in the attack be held to “the fullest extent of the law.”
The attack, he said, “should never have happened. As I’ve said many times before, the former president’s words that day were reckless. I believe history will judge his role in that.”
“Today’s news report: “
Lmao i love it. He even copied and pasted the first line of the DNC email.
Or was that from the guardian, the same source you used to claim some jackwad got the CGM???
You really need to sharpen your Google websearching skills, Tom. The news report is copied & pasted from CNN which directly quotes Pence from his interview today on State of the Union.
I have no idea who “used to claim some jackwad got the CGM.” Your detective skills appear to be as defective as your websearching skills, Tom.
Sure sure it wasnt you, whoever you are.
I notice you dont deny that line is from the DNC email you subscribe to.
Beahahahahhhaaa
It’s laughable how much confidence you have at making ridiculously false assumptions, Tom. I don’t subscribe to DNC emails. Never have, never will. I don’t think either party has genuine leaders.
But, hey, don’t let me impede your immensely fine tuned habit at leaping to wild, baseless conclusions, Tom. Peace.
We said that during the Watts riots in 1965, and during the invasion of once-great, once-American Washington D.C.
They were denied citizenship in 1802 by the Naturalization Act, and must have been compassionately repatriated on January 1, 1863.
What the —- happened, America?
Mike “Benedict Arnold” “Tory Loyalist” Pence
Pentagrams political days are over…
Pence’s in person experience can not “debunk” the presence of under cover FBI officers and informants.
Pence would not know.
Those who engaged in actual violence – which is a tiny fraction of protestors – should be prosecuted – as should any protestors that engage in violence.
As to Pence’s “not here” nonsense.
This is the US capitol – it is NOT sacred, it is the pre-eminent location in the United States for political protest.
It is sacred precisely BECAUSE we ALLOW protests that sometimes get out of hand.
If you prevent that you make it dark and evil. Not “sacred”.
Can those of you on the left cease the newspeak.
Debunked – does not mean “I disagree”.
There is absoltuely ZERO question there was an FBI presence at J6.
If there was NOT – then the FBI F’d up.
The question is NOT was the FBI there.
The key questions are HOW MANY FBI agents were involved and What was their involvment.
Were they there to thwart violence – there is no evidence of that.
Or were they there – as with the Michigan Wolverines to CAUSE violence.
Whether you are on the left or the right the FBI has a long long long dirty record of infiltrating political organizations and encouraging them to commit criminal acts. Or framing them.
“FBI lost count of how many paid informants were at Capitol on Jan. 6, and later performed audit to figure out exact number: ex-official”
The FBI had so many paid informants at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that it lost track of the number and had to perform a later audit to determine exactly how many “Confidential Human Sources” run by different FBI field offices were present that day, a former assistant director of the bureau has told lawmakers. At least one informant was communicating with his FBI handler as he entered the Capitol, according to Steven D’Antuono, formerly in charge of the bureau’s Washington field office. D’Antuono has testified behind closed doors to the House Judiciary Committee that his office was aware before the riot that some of their informants would attend a “Stop the Steal” rally thrown by former President Donald Trump, but he only learned after the fact that informants run by other field offices also were present, along with others who had participated of their own accord. The Washington field office had to ask FBI headquarters “to do a poll or put out something to people saying w[ere] any CHSs involved,” he said, so they could get a handle on the scale of the FBI’s spying operations at the Capitol that day. “We started getting responses back” from FBI headquarters, added D’Antuono, which helped identify which field offices had planted confidential informants in the crowd. According to a former FBI official, the bureau had to conduct an audit to find out how many paid informants it had at the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. One paid informant from the Kansas City field office was at the Capitol as the crowd surged inside and allegedly was in communication with his FBI handler “while they were in the crowd, I think, saying that they were going in,” according to the former bureau brass. “They were trying to stop some of the action happening and they left or whatnot.” Asked how many informants the audit discovered were in the crowd that day, D’Antuono would only say “a handful.” The FBI spends an average of $42 million each year in payments to its Confidential Human Sources, according to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, which has raised concerns about the vetting process for these paid informants. Steven D’Antuono, the former head of the FBI Washington field office, said that there was “a handful” of paid informants at the Capitol. 4 In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) described D’Antuono’s testimony as “extremely concerning.” It suggests that “the FBI cannot adequately track the activities and operations of its informants, and that it lost control of its CHSs present at the Capitol on January 6,” he wrote. “These revelations reinforce existing concerns, identified by Special Counsel [John] Durham, about the FBI’s use of, and payment to, CHSs who have fabricated evidence and misrepresented information. “The Justice Department Inspector General also identified critical problems in the FBI’s CHS program,” Jordan added, “including the FBI’s failure to fully vet CHSs and the FBI’s willingness to ignore red flags that would call into question an informant’s reliability.” Jordan has asked Wray to provide a “substantive briefing” on how the FBI used paid informants on Jan. 6, 2021, and “any specific guidelines or admonishments that were provided to FBI CHSs prior to deploying.” Wray has also been asked to provide all debriefing documents received from Capitol riot informants. Jordan also wants source reporting documentation relating to former British spy Christopher Steele, who was responsible for a now-notorious “dossier of false allegations about the Trump-Russia hoax.” The number of FBI informants present during the Capitol riot has long been a controversial topic at trials of the hundreds of defendants apprehended since that day. According to D’Antuono, at least one informant was communicating with a FBI handler as he was entering the Capitol building. Defense lawyers at the trial of five “Proud Boys” recently asserted that the FBI had as many as eight informants spying on the organization and that at least one was with them at the Capitol that day. Former Capitol Hill Police Chief Steven Sund has said that, in addition to the paid informants, the FBI had at least 18 undercover agents in the crowd plus an estimated 20 from the Department of Homeland Security.
– Miranda Devine
OFFICERS WERE UNSURE OF THE RULES FOR DEADLY FORCE — From Axios: Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman wrote in prepared remarks for a House hearing on Thursday that officers in her department were “unsure of when to use lethal force” during the Jan. 6 protest (“insurrection”).
Why it matters: Capitol Police did deploy lethal force on Jan. 6 — shooting and killing 35-year-old Ashli Babbit — but have faced questions over why officers appeared to be less forceful against pro-Trump rioters than participants in previous demonstrations, including those over Black Lives Matter and now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
https://www.axios.com/2021/02/24/capitol-police-hearing-january-6-lethal-force
Federalism is the opposite of states rights——svelass
A grand jury decides guilt or innocence—-svelass
Sedition is a form of insurrection—-svelass
Sedition is just an insurrection without violence——svelass
Sedition and insurrection are in the same statute——svelass
Not everyone who shoots gets a medal——svelass (who is too ignorant to know that no individual got a CG medal from j6)
“no individual got a CG medal from j6”
You’re either a liar or an ignoramus.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/12/capitol-police-officer-eugene-goodman-congressional-gold-medal
The guardian lmao
News from feb 2021 about an award that was given to the the capitol police in august 2021
Nice
Who is the ignoramus? You are.
Please cite the public law that awarded that guy a cgm
Ad hom is a common fallacy. I don’t care what you think about the Guardian. The Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Capitol Police as well. But your claim was about “no individual,” so the separate award to the CP is irrelevant.
There was no award to that guy, you fvckstick. Thats why i think the guardian is sh*t.
Its not ad hom. It has clear basis.
Cite the public law that awarded that guy a cgm or stfu and crawl back in your bubble.
See this is the problem with you goddam bedwetters getting your “news” from the Guardian.
Go read your own source, fvckstick.
He wasnt awarded jack sh*t. The Senate voted to approve it. That is all.
Below you can go to your other favorite, wikipedia and find the full list of CGM recipients.
You are a LIAR and an ignoramus, and a POS coward who posts anonymously.
Identify your cowardly self, so you can get correct bulling on the Wall of Shame
This is from Tom. Idk why it posted anonymous
Quite the vocabulary, Tom Tom! “Publick skool” graduate, I assume.
Yea, thats what i thought. Not so big mouthed now, are you. Easy to see why you post as Anonymous
Here you go, mr double down on stupid.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Congressional_Gold_Medal_recipients
You might note that I dont make statements of fact that can be easily disproven. Thats what the Wall of Shame aka the Lefty Turd Farm is for.
Man up and claim your star, Mr Guardian
I refuted it almost instantaneously. With his own article. And proof that Eugene Goodman NEVER received the CGM.