A woman shot by police while storming the Capitol by a pro-Donald Trump gang has been named as a 14-year veteran of the United States Air Force and of four foreign military trips, including to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, had traveled to Washington DC from San Diego, her husband told local news station KUSI, adding that she was a passionate Trump supporter.
According to Washington DC Police Chief Robert Contee, three other people died during the US Capitol siege on Wednesday as a result of “medical emergencies.”
Contee has confirmed to reporters that a woman has been shot by Capitol police – a federal law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the United States Congress – but has not released any further details.
Less than a day before she joined the Trump loyalist protest, Babbitt, an outspoken and public Trump supporter and a subscriber to a number of alt-right conspiracy theories, had vowed that the insurgent movement could never be stopped. “Nothing will stop us … they can try and try, but the storm is here and it’s going down in less than 24 hours on DC … dark to light!” she wrote on Twitter.
Babbitt, 35, was reportedly shot when she and other rioters tried to break through a barricaded door in the building where Capitol police officers on the other side were armed.
Video footage circulating on social media shows a single shot while attempting to storm the barricaded door. Other footage shows police trying to provide first aid to a woman bleeding on the floor.
Babbitt was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound, but was later pronounced dead.
Tweeting under the handle @CommonAshSense, Babbitt described herself as a veteran and a libertarian. Her social media account is full of statements of support for Trump and condemning the November presidential election, which Trump lost.
She also sold many of the conspiracy theories shared by alt-right groups, including one about an extensive network of high-profile and powerful pedophiles. Babbitt regularly retweets controversial attorney and conspiracy theorist Lin Wood, a high-profile Trump supporter who has filed several of the president’s unsuccessful lawsuits to contest the election results.
She had also called on Vice President Mike Pence – who broke up with Trump by refusing to oppose the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory – to resign and be charged with treason.
Babbitt’s mother-in-law, Robin Babbitt, told the New York Post, “I’m drugged. I am devastated. No one from Washington notified my son and we found out on TV. “
Everything is “pretty surreal,” said Babbitt’s brother-in-law Justin. “It’s difficult because we haven’t been officially notified.”
Contee said 14 officers were injured in the attack on the Capitol. One was taken to hospital after being dragged into a crowd and attacked, another suffered “significant facial injuries” after being hit by a projectile.
Contee reported 52 arrests: five for firearms offenses and 47 for curfew violations and unlawful entry. Twenty-six of those arrested were on the Capitol grounds.
A cooler full of Molotov cocktails was also found in the Capitol grounds. Police found two pipe bombs at the offices of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee.
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public emergency for the entire city until January 21, the day after Biden’s inauguration as president.
Bowser called the attack on the Capitol an “insult to our American democracy” and urged city residents to abide by the city’s curfew.
“I urge anyone who is not in your home or hotel – and if you want to cause trouble on the streets of Washington, you will be arrested,” she said.
Bowser said Trump had ultimate responsibility for the violent protests.
“We saw an unprecedented attack on our American democracy, instigated by the President of the United States.
He must be held accountable. His constant and divisive rhetoric led to the revolting actions we saw today. “