Capitol officer who fatally shot woman shouldn’t be charged, investigators say
The lieutenant was placed on leave after the incident occurred
The officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the U.S. Capitol siege will not face criminal charges.
On Monday, law enforcement officials said a preliminary investigation did not find enough evidence to charge the Capitol Police lieutenant. Babbitt was among the mob that stored the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6.
Babbitt, 35, was shot for trying to go through a broken window to enter the speaker’s lobby, per The New York Times.
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The lieutenant was placed on leave after the incident occurred.
Babbitt lived in California and was with the Air Force and the Air National Guard for decades. She was also an avid Donald Trump supporter and flew to participate in the protest against the certification of the electoral votes.
“She went bananas over him,” said Tony Mazziott, Babbitt’s grandfather who raised her in regards to Trump, to 10 News.
“We supported her passion, what can I say,” he added. “Didn’t argue with her because you’d never win.”
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An investigation is still ongoing with the Metropolitan Police Department. A spokesperson for the department said “it would be premature” for them “to make any comment that any conclusion had been reached.” The Justice Department and the Capitol Police said they cannot comment on an active investigation.
As a formality, civil rights prosecutors of the U.S. attorney’s office opened a federal excessive force investigation, a “routine, standard procedure whenever an officer deploys lethal force.”
The name of the officer has not been released and other far right supporters believe it proves they have been wronged.
“Why don’t we know who shot and killed the unarmed young lady in the Capitol yet?” wrote a Republican congressional candidate from California, Buzz Patterson on Twitter.
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