A four-year campaign to clear Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, shot dead by a U.S. Capitol Police officer as she attempted to access the House floor on Jan. 6, 2021, has ended successfully with the Defense Department agreeing to grant her full military funeral honors.
In a letter to Babbitt’s mother and husband, Undersecretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier wrote, āOn behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force, I write to extend the offer for Military Funeral Honors for SrA Ashli Babbitt. I understand that the familyās initial request was denied by Air Force leadership in a letter dated February 9, 2021. However, after reviewing the circumstances of Ashliās death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.ā
He added in a handwritten note, āPlease let me know what I can do to be of service, Matt.ā
The Aug. 15 letter capped a long effort by Babbittās family and Washington legal watchdog Judicial Watch to reverse the narrative that the retired airman helped lead a violent Capitol riot to stop the certification of Joe Bidenās election defeat of President Donald Trump.
Hegseth Babbitt Letter 2025 5 by web-producers
On Jan. 6, 2021, she was at the front of a group of protesters pressing to enter the Speakerās Lobby. As Babbitt, 35, was pushed through a window in the doorway to the chamber, Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot and killed the unarmed Babbitt.
Byrd was never charged, though an investigation questioned his training. He was later promoted.
āSheās dead, sheās deadā: Jan. 6 video has new angle on Ashli Babbitt shooting @J6TrueTimeline https://t.co/N34995qbzH pic.twitter.com/c7WMbcEPx4
— Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) January 2, 2024
Air Force Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly refused to grant Babbitt military funeral honors.
āI have determined that military funeral honors would bring discredit upon the Air Force,ā he said.
With the help of the liberal media, Babbittās case was mostly erased from the reporting on the protests that day. The unrest prompted Democrats to impeach Trump for a second time because they said he encouraged the āinsurrectionā by claiming that his defeat to Biden was the result of a āstolenā election. Trump returned to the presidency in 2024, soundly defeating Bidenās vice president.
Babbittās case was revived when Trump entered the Oval Office and granted clemency to the hundreds charged and convicted in the riots. Judicial Watch also won a $4.975 million wrongful death suit against the government.
BREAKING: The U.S. Air Force will finally provide full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021 (1/3). https://t.co/5F9eWj2iZc
— Judicial Watch
(@JudicialWatch) August 27, 2025
āAshli Babbittās family is grateful to President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and Undersecretary Lohmeier for reversing the Biden Defense Departmentās cruel decision to deny Ashli funeral honors as a distinguished veteran of the Air Force,ā Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
āJudicial Watchās team spent years investigating, litigating, and exposing the truth about Ashliās homicide. Judicial Watch is proud to have done its part in bringing her family a measure of justice and accountability for Ashliās outrageous killing. And our battle for justice will continue,ā Fitton added.
TRUMP DOJ SEEKS TO DISMISS JAN. 6 LAWSUIT FROM PROUD BOYS LEADERS
Babbitt served in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve. She graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in August 2004 and was a senior airman until June 2009, when she joined the Air National Guard.
She was a military police officer in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and conducted presidential security for two years.
