President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will be looking into why the Department of Justice is still fighting the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Ashli Babbitt’s family.
Further, he pledged to see what can be done to United States Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd, who was promoted to captain following his Jan. 6, 2021, fatal shooting of Babbitt. The Air Force veteran was in the Capitol building protesting the conduct of the 2020 election and was not armed.
Newsmax host Greg Kelly raised the subject with Trump during an interview, saying, “It was a bad shooting. My father can tell you that.” Kelly’s father is former New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
Trump agreed, responding, “Terrible. It’s a terrible thing.”
“I don’t know if you know this, but the Department of Justice right now is still kind of fighting that case,” Kelly continued. “The family of Ashli Babbit is suing the government, wrongful death. The DOJ right now officially is still opposing that lawsuit, trying to justify it.”
“Shouldn’t that be something that can just be settled at this point?” Kelly asked.
“Well, I’ll look into that. I mean, you’re just telling me that for the first time. I haven’t heard that,” the president replied.
President Trump: “I am a big fan of Ashli Babbitt, and Ashli Babbitt was a really good person… She was innocently standing there… and a man did something to her that was unthinkable when he shot her and I think it’s a disgrace. I am going to look into that.” pic.twitter.com/764aC0J3xk
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 26, 2025
Do you think Michael Byrd will finally face justice?
Yes: 75% (3 Votes)
No: 25% (1 Votes)
“I am a big fan of Ashli Babbitt, and Ashli Babbitt was a really good person, who was a big MAGA fan, Trump fan. And she was innocently standing there, and they even say, trying to sort of to hold back the crowd, and a man did something to her that was unthinkable when he shot her, and I think it’s a disgrace. I am going to look into that,” Trump reiterated.
Kelly also questioned whether he has the authority to remove Byrd from the Capitol Police force.
“I’m going to look at that, too,” Trump said.
He went on to point out that he had pardoned or commuted the sentence of all those who were convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol protest.
“The people who went down there, they didn’t have guns. They had no guns,” Trump said, and also noted that the FBI had informants among the crowd, and he felt Antifa operatives were on hand, too.
In January 2024, Judicial Watch filed a wrongful death suit for $30 million against the federal government for the shooting of Babbitt.
The conservative public interest firm filed the lawsuit in federal district court in southern California on behalf of Babbitt’s husband, Aaron Babbitt, and her estate.
Byrd shot Babbitt in the Capitol in a lobby outside the House chamber.
“After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight,” the complaint said.
Byrd, who was the incident commander for the House on Jan. 6, “shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight.
“Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed,” the complaint said.
“Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby. Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone. Not one member of Congress was in the lobby, which was guarded by multiple armed police officers.”
The court filing continued, “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.”
The moment of the shooting can be seen in this 2021 NBC News story at the 2:30 minute mark.
In an exclusive interview with @LesterHoltNBC, Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd describes why he’s choosing to identify himself. Byrd shares his account of the January 6 riot, as officers barricaded the door and he fired a single shot, killing Ashli Babbitt. pic.twitter.com/5E7KPtxNc2
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) August 26, 2021
Byrd told NBC he had given commands to Babbitt, and she did not comply.
The suit further alleged that at 2:45 p.m., or within one minute after shooting Ashli, Lt. Byrd called in, “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.”
The only shot fired on Jan. 6 was by Byrd.
An eyewitness to the incident said that Babbitt, who had served in Air Force security, had been joking with the officers near her before the crowd arrived and then told them they needed to call for backup because she feared the scene might escalate.
In August 2021, the Capitol Police cleared Byrd of any wrongdoing in the death of Babbitt.
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