President Donald Trump and his administration have agreed to pay almost $5 million to settle a lawsuit over the fatal shooting of Air Force Veteran Ashli Babbit at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in January 2021.
According to the Associated Press, an anonymous source told the outlet details on the lawsuit that has not been made public. Babbit’s estate filed a $30 million federal lawsuit, after Babbit was shot by a Capitol police officer as she attempted to climb through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby.
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia concluded the officer who fatally shot Babbit, was acting in self-defense and protecting members of Congress, and later cleared him of any wrongdoing.
On May 2, Babbit’s estate lawyers and the Justice Department told a federal judge a settlement had been reached but the final agreement was still being worked out and had not yet been signed.
In the lawsuit, it alleges the officer involved did nothing to deescalate the situation, nor did he give her any instructions to follow – Babbit’s death was caught on camera and shows she was fatally shot in the neck.
The suit further accused the Capitol Police of negligence and said the officer was “prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner.”
“Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone,” the lawsuit said.
In a televised interview, the officer said he had used deadly force as a “last resort” and added that he didn’t know if Babbit was armed.
The incident took place during the “Stop the Steal” rally held on the ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. More than 1,500 people were charged after they entered the Capitol Building. Those charged have since have been given pardons by Trump, one of his first actions upon taking office in January.
