Air Force grants full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt
The U.S. Air Force will provide full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, riot.
Babbitt, 35, was fatally shot by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd as rioters attempted to breach the Speaker’s Lobby. The Department of Justice later announced it would not pursue charges against Byrd, closing its investigation in April 2021, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The decision to provide full military funeral honors comes from a $5 million settlement from the Trump Administration to Babbitt’s family following her death.
Previously, the Biden Administration denied the family full military funeral honors.
The decision to give Babbitt these honors was confirmed on August 15 in a letter by Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew L. Lohmeier that was addressed to Babbitt’s husband, Aaron, and her mother, Michelle Witthoeft.
The letter read, in part, on 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 family’s initial request was denied by Air Force leadership in a letter dated February 9, 2021.However, after reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
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