Military pays respects to Capitol insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt during formal funeral ceremony
The U.S. Air Force has announced that it will grant full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, a U.S. Air Force veteran who was killed during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
In an Aug. 15 letter, Air Force Under Secretary Matthew Lohmeier invited Babbitt's family to meet him at the Pentagon to discuss the details of the military honors. Lohmeier's letter does not specify the date when the honors will be conducted, nor does it mention any specific changes to the honors offered.
The decision to offer military honors to Babbitt follows a settlement with her family over a wrongful-death lawsuit. The Trump administration agreed to pay just under $5 million to settle the lawsuit.
The offer of military honors comes after Babbitt gained martyr status among Republicans and was denied military honors by the Biden administration, according to conservative legal group Judicial Watch. No further military honors were offered to Babbitt's family by the Biden administration, according to Judicial Watch.
Babbitt, who held the rank of senior airman, was shot dead while attempting to climb through a broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker's Lobby inside the Capitol. She was wearing a Trump campaign flag wrapped around her shoulders at the time of her death.
In his letter, Lohmeier stated that he is persuaded that the previous determination regarding Babbitt's death was incorrect, but the letter does not contain any apologies or acknowledgment of wrongdoing regarding the initial decision not to offer military honors to Babbitt.
The offer of military honors to Babbitt is part of President Donald Trump's attempts to rewrite the chapter of the Capitol riot after the 2020 election. Trump has previously offered military honors to Babbitt, and his offer has been criticized by some as an attempt to politicize the military.
Babbitt's death has been the subject of numerous investigations and legal proceedings, including a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by her family against the U.S. Capitol Police. The Capitol Police have defended the officer who shot Babbitt, stating that he acted in self-defense and that Babbitt posed an immediate threat.
The U.S. Air Force spokesperson reviewed the circumstances of Babbitt's death and offered military funeral honors to her family, following the settlement with her family over the wrongful-death lawsuit. The offer of military honors marks a reversal of the previous rejection by the Biden administration.
