The family of Ashli Babbitt filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Trump administration over her shooting by an officer during the riot at the United States Capitol.
According to a person who is familiar with the settlement, the Trump administration has agreed to pay just under $5 million to settle the plaintiffs in the case.
For the purpose of discussing the terms of a settlement that have not been made public, the individual insisted on remaining anonymous.
The federal lawsuit that Babbitt’s estate filed in Washington, District of Columbia, last year for thirty million dollars would be resolved through the settlement.
When Babbitt attempted to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door that led to the Speaker’s Lobby on January 6, 2021, she was shot by a Capitol police officer.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia came to the conclusion that the officer who shot her was acting in self-defense and in defense of members of Congress. As a result, the officer was exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Additionally, the officer was exonerated by the Capitol Police.
There has been no disclosure of the terms of the settlement in any public court filings. On May 2, attorneys representing Babbitt’s estate and the Justice Department informed a federal judge that they had reached a settlement in principle but that they were still working out the details before a final agreement could be signed.
When Babbitt, a San Diego resident who had served in the Air Force for 35 years, was shot by the officer, she was not protected by any weapons.
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According to the allegations made in the lawsuit, the officer in plain clothes did not take any steps to de-escalate the situation and did not provide her with any warnings or commands prior to opening fire.
Additional allegations of negligence were made in the lawsuit against the Capitol Police Department. The suit asserted that the department ought to have been aware that the officer was “prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner.”
According to the lawsuit, “Ashli did not involve any danger to the safety of any individual.”
During a television interview, the officer stated that he had fired the employee as a “last resort.” He stated that he was unsure whether or not the individual who had jumped through the window was armed at the time that he pulled the trigger.
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After President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters at his “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6 near the White House, thousands of people stormed the Capitol building demanding to be allowed to enter.
The attack resulted in injuries to more than one hundred law enforcement officers.
On his first day back in the White House in January, President Trump granted pardons, commuted prison sentences, or ordered the dismissal of charges for all of the more than 1,500 individuals who were charged with crimes related to the riot.
