Newly released government documents show that Capitol Hill cop Michael Byrd needn’t have killed Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt on January 6.
Byrd shot the Air Force veteran when she and other mostly peaceful protesters were in the U.S. Capitol building during what leftists are calling an “insurrection.” Trump supporters went to Washington, D.C., to protest what they believed was last year’s fraudulent presidential election.
Byrd’s fellow officers saw that Babbitt did not have a firearm, the documents obtained by Judicial Watch show. And fellow cops said Byrd was teary-eyed and shaken after he shot down the then-35-year-old patriot. They also said they did not hear Byrd warn Babbitt he would shoot. Byrd maintains that he repeatedly warned her to retreat.
JW president Tom Fitton said the 532-page document haul shows that Byrd shot Babbitt for no reason. In April, federal prosecutors cleared Byrd of wrongdoing.
Babbitt Had No Gun
JW assembled interviews with eyewitnesses, almost all cops, from the trove of documents obtained from Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police.
A Capitol Hill police sergeant told investigators that “someone on the House Floor shouted that there had been shots fired,” one document says:
Sergeant [redacted] was advised that the sound was breaking glass, not gunshots. He radioed that the report of gunshots was incorrect, that it was glass breaking. Sergeant [redacted] was approached by an officer who advised that the sound was, in fact, gunshots. Sergeant [redacted] went back over the radio and reported that there were gunshots on the House Floor.
Sergeant [redacted] walked out of the House Chamber, into the Speaker’s Lobby and observed glass being broken out of the doors and windows at the east end of this area. He observed that an officer and Lieutenant Byrd had taken up positions and had their guns out. Sergeant [redacted] took his gun out and positioned himself behind a pillar in the Speaker’s Lobby.
A glass panel came completely out of one of the windows and a protester started to come through the opening. There was a lot of screaming and Sergeant [redacted] heard someone yelling, “get back, get back.”
That might or might not have been Byrd, a lieutenant with 28 years in the department.
After the shooting, that sergeant said Byrd immediately “looked upset” and said “I was the one who took the shot.”
“I don’t know if something happened to him where [sic] caused him to take the shot or not,” the sergeant said, and he “didn’t see anything in her hands.” He emphasized that Byrd’s “eyes were red” and “you could see he was visibly upset.”
Another Capitol Hill cop — “immediately behind Byrd” when he fired — confirmed that Babbitt did not have a gun. That officer “did not see Ms. McEntee [Babbitt] in possession of any potential weapons,” a report said. “He reiterated that he did not observe that she was armed.”
The same officer confirmed that he did not hear police order Babbitt to retreat. “Not at that point” and then “I do not recall that.”
A third officer interviewed a month later said he “did not hear any verbal commands.”
Those claims contradict another man who “claimed to have been in the House Chambers,” JW reported:
The man said he saw Lt. Byrd position himself behind a pillar and claimed he heard Byrd shout “loud verbal commands” stating that he would “shoot.” The interviewee also said Byrd fired twice. He went on to say that he felt Byrd had “saved several people’s lives” through his actions. According to the transcript, the interviewee “reached out” to the Metro PD to give his statement.
Byrd told NBC News’s Lester Holt that he repeatedly warned Babbitt to “please, stop” and “get back.” But the Trump supporter ignored him.
“You’re ultimately hoping that your commands will be complied with,” Byrd told Holt, “and unfortunately, they were not.” Byrd claimed Babbitt “was posing a threat to the House of Representatives.”
No Reason
“These previously secret records show there was no good reason to shoot and kill Ashli Babbitt,” Fitton said. “The Biden-Garland Justice Department and the Pelosi Congress have much to answer for over the mishandling and cover-up of this scandalous killing of an American citizen by the U.S. Capitol Police.”
In late September, JW sued the U.S. Justice Department for its documents related to the case.
In August, JW revealed that Washington, D.C .’s medical examiner sought permission to cremate Babbitt’s body just two days after the office took possession.
The newly-released documents are available at JudicialWatch.org
H/T: Fox News, New York Post
