➡ Ashley Babbitt’s family has received a settlement of $4.975 million from the U.S. government for her wrongful death during the events of January 6th. This settlement challenges the narrative that only police officers were harmed that day. The lawsuit was filed by Judicial Watch, who spent years investigating and exposing the truth about Ashley’s death. Despite the settlement, the government does not admit liability, and further investigations and potential law enforcement actions are still possible.
➡ Ashley Babbitt’s family, with the help of Judicial Watch, filed a $30 million lawsuit against the U.S. government after she was shot by Lieutenant Michael Byrd of the U.S. Capitol Police. The lawsuit claims Ashley was ambushed and wrongfully killed, and the settlement is seen as a significant step towards justice for her. Judicial Watch, which is supported by donations, is committed to fighting for justice, even if it takes decades. The organization and its supporters, including Ashley’s mother Mickey and President Trump, are grateful for the progress made in Ashley’s case.

When this settlement blows out of the water, the lies about January 6th, you know, their whole narrative depended on only police officers being hurt that day, and there were police officers who were hurt that day. But what got in the way of that narrative about how terrible January 6th’s were? Poor Ashley was killed for no good reason by Lieutenant Byrd. More great news today. We can announce that the wrongful death lawsuit that Judicial Watch filed for Ashley Babbitt’s family has been settled with the federal government, the United States government, for $4.975 million. $4,975,000. And it’s a great victory for Ashley and her family.

It is necessary. It’s a fair settlement, and we had filed this lawsuit for her family back in, I think it was 2022. And we’ve been battling in court for years, investigating, litigating, exposing what went on with her, well, it’s not what I would call it, her literal homicide. And thanks, frankly, to the Trump administration being in power, they settled this case with us, and what a day for justice as a result. As our press release sets out, this fair settlement is a historic and necessary step for justice for Ashley Babbitt’s family. Ashley should never have been killed, and this settlement destroys the evil partisan narrative that justified her outrageous killing and protected her killer.

Judicial Watch’s team spent years investigating, litigating, exposing the truth about Ashley’s homicide, and credit goes to the hundreds of thousands of Judicial Watch supporters who fought for this cause. President Trump was an absolute rock in supporting Ashley’s family and advocating for justice. So what a wonderful team effort by Judicial Watch’s team with the support of Americans and, of course, Ashley’s with her husband, Aaron Babbitt, who we filed the lawsuit for. And, of course, we’ve been helping and praying and supporting also Ashley’s mother, Mickey. And I can tell you, they’re thrilled about this settlement. And you can be sure the left, because there’s been stories previous to this, because I couldn’t talk about the amount or the settlement.

I mean, it just happened literally today. The government signed the settlement papers today. Here, I’ve got the settlement here. This is what it looks like. And the lawyer for the Justice Department signed it. Doesn’t look like they used an auto pen. Today, on June 6th. But it had been previously reported, someone had leaked it, that the settlement was out there. And, of course, we had a court battle earlier on that required us to disclose that we had settled in principle, and the left went crazy. They started smearing and defaming Ashley in her memory, attacking her family, attacking Trump, attacking January 6th.

It’s all about this. And this settlement blows out of the water the lies about January 6th. You know, their whole narrative depended on only police officers being hurt that day. And there were police officers who were hurt that day. But what got in the way of that narrative? About how terrible January 6th were before Ashley was killed, for no good reason, by Lieutenant Byrd. Let’s play the video of Ashley being killed again. I can’t believe he shot her. To this day, I can’t believe he shot her like that. I think she was crawling through that window.

I think, you know, looking at the videos for safety. And we published online the last 19 minutes of Ashley’s life, and it looked to me watching what went on. They could have saved her life if they had moved more quickly to save her life and provide her medical support. So we filed the lawsuit in 2024, not 2022, as I misremembered. And we filed today, I don’t think we filed this actual document with the court, but the document, it’s called a stipulation for compromise, settlement, and release. Now, of course, the lawsuit initially was filed for $30 million, but the settlement now is for $4.975 million.

And it’s a settlement, right? It’s a compromise. And this is how it describes, this is how a settlement is described legally in a document. To settle and compromise each and every claim of any kind, whether known or unknown, including claims for wrongful death, arising directly or indirectly from the acts or omissions that gave rise to the above captioned action under the terms and conditions set forth in a stipulation. The stipulation is not and should not be construed as an admission of liability or fault on the part of the United States, its agents, servants, or employees, and it is specifically denied that they are liable to plaintiffs.

The settlement is entered into all by parties, excuse me, the settlement is entered into by all parties for the purpose of compromising disputed claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and that was the law under which we sued for Ashley’s family, and avoiding the expenses and risk of further litigation. So in consideration for the plaintiff’s agreement to accept the terms and conditions of this settlement, the United States agrees to pay plaintiffs the amount of $4,975,000. There you have it. That’s how settlements are reached. It’s standard, relatively standard language. So the government is admitting liability, but my view is you can draw your own conclusion from the number of $4.975 million that they gave to settle the case.

It’s a compromised number. They admit nothing, but they were prepared to go to trial on this case. Before the Trump people came in, we’re going to be in trial in 2026. The lawsuit included claims against the government for wrongful death, assault and battery, and various negligence claims. And the lawsuit was very useful, and still is useful potentially, for anyone who wants to actually pursue further law enforcement action against Ashley Babbitt’s killer, who should never, in my view, been anywhere near that scene, let alone even having a gun. He left his gun in the bathroom in the middle of the Capitol Visitor’s Center, which is where all the tourists walked through to visit the Capitol.

He was involved with an improper shooting near his home. He couldn’t even get a shotgun from civilian authorities because of his record, and it had to be lent to him by the U.S. Capitol Police. We also exposed how, during the shooting, he put out a radio call, shots fired, shots fired. He was the only person who fired a shot. And they covered his name up for months. They hid him from the American people. Judicial Watch exposed how he was given special accommodations. He was allowed to stay rent-free at Joint Base Andrews, a United States base, a military base.

The Defense Department was involved in the cover-up of who he was for months. This shooting was treated like no other police-involved shooting in recent memory. And I don’t think there was ever a serious criminal investigation of that shooting death of Ashley Babbitt, the only official homicide victim that day. Let’s put up another picture of Ashley, a 14-year veteran of the United States Air Force. And she came to D.C. by herself because she loved Trump, supported Trump, and she ended up in this situation where she got shot by this out-of-control police officer. So, yeah, the government was right to settle the case for $4.975 million with Ashley’s family over what happened.

Does it mean this issue’s over? Of course not. We’ve got litigation for records about Ashley. And I know, you know, people who were there, the shooting occurred at, let me tell you what the people said who were there. The shooting occurred at the east entrance to the speaker’s lobby. After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, this is from our lawsuit, two individuals in the crowded, tightly-packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors in the right-door side light. Lieutenant Byrd, who was the United States Capitol Police Officer, a police commander, and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashley on-site as she raised herself up into the opening of the right-door side light.

Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashley before seeing her hands, or assessing her intentions, or even identifying her as a female. Ashley was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Byrd and other officers in the lobby. The facts speak truth. Ashley was ambushed when she was shot by Lieutenant Byrd. Multiple witnesses at the scene yelled, you just murdered her. Byrd was never charged or otherwise punished her discipline for Ashley’s homicide. He’s still up there. You know what they did? They made him a captain. Despite his record, despite this unlawful shooting, they made him a captain.

Basically an endorsement of the killing of an innocent woman by the leadership of Congress and the police administration, the U.S. Capitol Police. It was an ambush as far as I’m concerned. So the major lawsuit over Ashley’s death is over, $4.975 million settlement for her family. The litigation for records about Ashley continues by Judicial Watch. And the question is, is there going to be law enforcement action? Is there going to be a reopening of the investigation, a criminal investigation into the death of Ashley Babbitt? And again, I want to thank our team for doing this. The lawyer who is running this case, Robert Patrick Stick, spent thousands of hours investigating this.

Aaron Babbitt, great, great guy. Mickey, who’s been not only advocating for justice for Ashley, but Ashley’s mom, Mickey, has been… No matter what’s happening in D.C., you can be sure Mickey will be there advocating for Ashley. And she’s been a trooper in terms of advocating for the rights of the January 6th defendants, who then thankfully have been pardoned by President Trump. So just a great, and of course you, dear Judicial Watch supporter. We’re only able to do this because of the support of our members. So if you’re giving donations to Judicial Watch, this is the type of work it supports, justice for Ashley Babbitt.

And, you know, one of my fondest memories, at least as it relates to this case, is talking about this issue before a crowded CPAC. I think it was last year. And I simply was kind of…it’s hard to tell from the video, but I was kind of overwhelmed by the powerful response. Let’s play that speech excerpt. I got very upset again recently about January 6th. I was rewatching the video of the needless killing of Ashley Babbitt, the Air Force veteran, shot for no good reason by Lieutenant Michael Byrd of the U.S. Capitol Police. And I’ve watched those videos.

I can’t believe he just shot her dead like that. I just can’t believe it. And few in this corrupt city give a rat’s tail about that awful shooting. But millions of Americans care. And her family cares. I think her mom, Mickey, is still here at CPAC. Is Mickey here? Well, give her a round of applause anyway. God bless her. And that’s why I’m so pleased Judicial Watch just filed a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government. On behalf of the family of Ashley Babbitt, as our lawsuit states, the facts speak truth. Ashley was ambushed when she was shot by Lieutenant Byrd.

Muffled witnesses at the scene yelled, you just murdered her. Judicial Watch is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. I tell you what, if it takes 30 more years to get Justice for Ashley, that will be time well spent. So we did get at Justice for Ashley. And is it sufficient? It’s never going to be sufficient. She’s still dead. She’s the victim of a homicide. But this settlement certainly is a wonderful way of vindicating her, a veteran, wife, daughter. And there are a few more important things that Judicial Watch has done over the decades I’ve been here, at least, than to try to get Justice for her.

So this settlement, again, thank you, Aaron. Thank you, Mickey. Thank you, Robert. Thank you, Judicial Watch supporters. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you, the Trump Justice Department. And thank you, everyone else who is a citizen who’s been praying for Justice for Ashley because we got a good piece of justice for her just today. So God bless Ashley and God bless America. Thank you. [tr:trw].

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