The family of a San Diego woman who was fatally shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer when she joined an angry mob of Trump supporters to storm the U.S. capitol intends to file a lawsuit against the police department, CNBC reported Friday.
Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from Ocean Beach, was in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, protesting Trump's election defeat when she and a violent crowd stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden's election from being certified.
Graphic video showing the moment Babbitt was shot shows a chaotic crowd yelling at guards before bashing in the windows of a door leading to the House Chamber, according to Capitol Police. The video shows an officer point a gun towards the window and fire one shot as Babbitt attempts to climb through the broken glass. She was transported to a hospital where she later died.
The officer who fired the shot will not be criminally charged, federal prosecutors determined two weeks ago, closing out an investigation into the deadly shooting.
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Babbitt's family intends to sue U.S. Capitol police and the officer for $10 million to account for the financial losses of Babbitt's "services to her husband and combined with Ashli’s potential income if she would have lived," the family's lawyer, Terrell Roberts, told CNBC. "A potential for recovery for non-pecuniary losses is also factored in the amount."
Roberts said they have not determined when, or in which court, the civil lawsuit would be filed, CNBC reported.
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Babbitt is one of five people who died in or outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, including a police officer. Three other people died of medical emergencies.
Babbitt was an Air Force veteran who served on multiple tours in the Middle East.
Her Twitter feed includes several pro-Trump posts and pictures of her at local pro-Trump rallies. It also included false allegations that November's election was riddled with fraud.
“Nothing will stop us....they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light!” Ashli Babbitt wrote a day before she and thousands of other Trump supporters took part in the siege in Washington, D.C.
Babbitt's brother-in-law Justin Jackson described her as "loyal as well as extremely passionate about what she believed in. She loved this country and felt honored to have served in our Armed Forces."
While some may see her as a martyr, Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund said she was part of a riotous group involved in “criminal riotous behavior," not free speech.
The rioters who smashed their way into the U.S. Capitol, forcing members of Congress to hide, "actively attacked" law enforcement with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and “took up other weapons against our officers," Sund said.
The Justice Department expects to charge more than 500 people with taking part in the riot, By April 23, about 440 people had been charged in connection with the attack and several more cases were pending, according to federal prosecutors.
The charges range from low-level offenses, such as entering a federal building without permission to more serious charges like assaulting police officers. Some even face conspiracy charges.
Federal investigators say they have more than 15,0000 hours of video evidence from surveillance and police body cameras.
