The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Bureau have closed their investigation into the shooting death of a female protester during the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, deciding not to prosecute on the grounds that there was “insufficient evidence.
Ashli Babbitt, a U.S. Air Force veteran from San Diego, was shot in the left shoulder by an unnamed U.S. Capitol Police officer. She was unarmed at the time.
A press release issued by prosecutors said the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Corruption and Civil Rights Division and the Metropolitan Washington Police Department Internal Affairs Division “conducted a thorough investigation into the Babbitt shooting.
“Based on this investigation, officials determined that there was insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution,” the release said.
FILE PHOTO: House Impeachment Manager 2021 A Feb. 10 photo of evidence showing Ashley Babbitt walking inside the Capitol before she was shot Jan. 6. (Photo released by the U.S. Senate.)
Babbitt entered Capitol Hill with a group of protesters Jan. 6 to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election. Congress was in session at the time and was about to certify the election results.
Babbitt, along with a mob, attempted to break into a section of Capitol Hill leading to the chamber, the press release said. Police were trying to control the crowd and evacuate members of Congress.
Babbitt was one of a total of five people who died during or shortly after the riot. The incident resulted in the death of one police officer, but the cause of death was not determined. Three others died as a result of emergency medical conditions.
Recent Comments