Trump Admin, Ashli Babbitt's Family Reach Settlement

The Trump administration has reached a "settlement in principle" with the family of Ashli Babbitt, the Jan. 6 protester who was shot and killed by police inside the Capitol, according to Politico.

WUSA9 reported that the settlement resolves a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of Babbitt's husband, Aaron Babbitt, in January 2024 under the Federal Tort Claims Act.  

The settlement's terms are not yet public, and the Justice Department and lawyers for the Babbitt family say they have not signed anything, according to Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney.

The two parties are reportedly working to finalize the details and get the settlement written down and signed within "the next few weeks."

According to WUSA9, Jozeph Gonzalez, a trial attorney with the DOJ's Civil Division, acknowledged the agreement during an emergency hearing on Friday.

Reportedly, neither Gonzalez nor Robert Sticht, a Judicial Watch lawyer, revealed the terms of the agreement or whether a monetary settlement was included as part of the deal.

In the complaint, Judicial Watch alleged that Lt. Michael Byrd, the officer who shot Babbitt, had failed to warn her or de-escalate the situation and had negligently discharged his gun. The conservative activist group also alleged negligence on the part of other officers near the Speaker's Lobby at the time the shooting took place, as well as on the part of U.S. Capitol Police and the Capitol Police Board for failing to properly train Byrd to make tactical decisions.

Babbitt, who was an Air Force veteran, was fatally shot while trying to climb through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Her death became a rallying cry for Jan. 6 supporters and was frequently mentioned by President Donald Trump while he was campaigning for his second term.

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