(READ) Statement by attorney for Capitol Police officer who shot and killed unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt


The following statement was released by the attorney representing an unnamed Capitol police officer who shot and killed unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt during the January riots at the U.S. Capitol.

The statement was issued after prosecutors announced they will not file charges against the officer. Prosecutors say they could not find evidence that showed the officer did not reasonably think: his life was in danger or that he was protecting members of Congress.

April 14, 2021 Lowenstein Client, Capitol Police Officer Involved in January 6, 2021, Shooting of Rioter, Will Not Face Criminal Charges Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors with the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USAO) have declined to charge the United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer with any crimes relating to his appropriate, necessary, and legal use of force when he shot rioter Ashli Babbitt during the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Ms. Babbitt was an active member of the mob that stormed the Capitol and broke in and searched for Members of Congress who were doing their Constitutional duty to certify the Electoral College victory of President Biden. The officer, a lieutenant whose name has been kept confidential because of death threats by those who either do not know the facts or the law or who simply support the mob who stormed the Capitol, shot Ms. Babbitt when she forcibly entered the Speaker’s Lobby directly adjacent to the floor of the House of Representatives. Ms. Babbitt was leading the charge through the barricaded doors, assisting in breaking a window, and climbing into the Speakers Lobby after illegally entering the Capitol Building during the riots. The lieutenant was protecting the Members of Congress who were being evacuated in the face of the violent mob–the same mob that did significant damage to the Capitol building while killing a Capitol Police officer and injuring over 140 other sworn officers who were attempting to hold them back. Ms. Babbitt broke multiple laws in the process of entering the Speaker’s Lobby, and she refused to obey the orders of multiple officers not to come through the window and into the controlled area where Members of Congress were sheltering.  Mark E. Schamel and Ana L. Jara of Lowenstein Sandler’s White Collar Criminal Defense group represent the lieutenant; both are based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.  In response to the DOJ decision, Schamel says: “This is the only correct conclusion following the events of January 6. The lieutenant exercised professionalism and fantastic restraint in defending and protecting members of Congress.”  “His bravery on January 6 was nothing short of heroic,” Schamel continues. “He stopped the rioters from gaining entry into the Speaker’s Lobby and saved the lives of countless members of Congress and the rioters. His heroism should be no surprise to those who know him. He is a decorated veteran with a distinguished career with the USCP. The events of January 6 have again proved his valor and his steadfast dedication to the safety and sanctity of Congress, the Capitol, and the United States.”  “As unfortunate as it is that the lieutenant had to resort to deadly force,” Schamel says, “he fired only one shot at the only person who breached the locked doors and makeshift barricade that had been erected. He did so after clearly identifying himself and ordering the mob not to come through the barricade. He used tremendous restraint in only firing one shot, and his actions stopped the mob from breaking through and turning a horrific day in American history into something so much worse.” The DOJ investigation sought to determine whether the type of force used was objectively reasonable and if the officer involved used excessive or unjustified force or if he violated the civil rights of an individual. “As shown by the extensive video footage and witness accounts of this violent event,” says Jara, “this was an absolutely justified use of force, and the nation owes the lieutenant a debt of gratitude.” 


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66 thoughts on “(READ) Statement by attorney for Capitol Police officer who shot and killed unarmed protester Ashli Babbitt”

  1. Are you freaking kidding me?!? Talk about a bunch of BS! I saw the video of the shooting. Ashli Babbit was murdered by that man. Two tiers of justice continues. Makes me sick! Our country is in so much trouble!

    1. I feel exactly the same way about what I saw on that video, and now apparently the person who took the video of what was happening is being held by Federal authorities.. What is HIS Crime ??

    2. Law Enforcement guys like him are protected because they’re mere hitmen for the Elected Officials. Probably lees than 1% of them have College Degrees, so they’ll kill their mothers if ordered to, to keep their Pen$ion$ alive. Now, imagine the difference if those were crowds of Black, Red, Brown people. Most E. Officials treat the guards like crap, until an event like Jan. 6 takes place.

    3. I agree. I saw the video. I watched a Capitol Police Officer shoot an unarmed woman who was just standing near the doors. Unjustified homicide is what I saw.

    4. In this response by the lawyer for this murderous police officer, he said that: “The lieutenant was protecting the Members of Congress who were being evacuated in the face of the violent mob–the same mob that did significant damage to the Capitol building while killing a Capitol Police officer and injuring over 140 other sworn officers who were attempting to hold them back.”

      No Capital Police officer was killed by this crowd. Not one! He died of something, but it was days after the confrontation and all of the media had reported incorrectly, that this Capital Police officer, was struck by a fire extinguisher. Also, not true. As in the media and the Democrats lied about the event.

      This is a crime that is going to go unpunished, because of political connections and that it would upset the narrative that the media, the Democrats and all of the rest of the neo Marxist want to perpetuate.

  2. Well you see the police who kill black people are getting charged why. It this police man. This is wrong. Our government is so totally messed up starting with the vindictive Democrats

    1. Huh?

      This isn’t “Democrats” and it isn’t “Republicans.” Have we become so politicized that you can’t think about this clearly? And the fact that you inject race is odd, seeing as the situations are unrelated. If you want to argue otherwise, make your case. But to take just the two most publicized police killings of blacks in the Minneapolis area, if a mob of screaming blacks was moving on a small cohort of cops, threatening violence, I don’t think any reasonable person would argue that the use of force by the police to protect themselves would be unreasonable.

      The videos from the January 6 assault on the Capitol building tell a very different story.

    2. What about the video of the shooting showing she was simply standing next to others and was unarmed and shot for no apparent reason?

  3. What a crock of horse crap this is and they know it..
    How is this any different if not worse then what just happened in Minneapolis..With The accidental shooting in Minneapolis the guy tried to get away while having a warrant for sexual assault with a deadly weapon and tried to flee..
    The police officers name was on TV within hours in Minneapolis incident
    and we still don’t know who this A-Hole is in the Capitol Police dept..
    What a freakin disgraceful liar!
    I’m so sick of this BS

  4. Sad. One system of justice for the progressive left, one for conservative right where the right always loses. Why can’t we know the officers name? We know the names of the police officers who have shot (fill in the blank with any African American that was shot while resisting arrest or failing to comply with police commands).

  5. Like in the case of the Hillary Clnton illegal server/email scandal, when the DOJ/FBI advised anyone who might engage in similar illegal activity not to expect the same criteria to be used as an argument in defense. This too is a unique case and other law enforcement officers who shoot unarmed people based on perceived self defense or the protection of life should not expect to be deemed justified and their cases dismissed.

    Different strokes for different folks.

    Two tiers, you know.

    1. In the Hillary matter, the Director of the FBI makes a decision that is normally made by a Federal Prosecutor and no one says a word.

  6. I only had to read the first line to wonder if the video I saw and heard narrated concerning this event was an orchestrated hoax. You can’t prosecute someone for a fake crime, now, can you. All the ranting and raving videos from her FB were too over the TOP, like alphabet Deep State over the TOP. In my opinion… don’t believe me? Go search out the real videos for yourself…

  7. Make no mistake, our country has shown all of us here that we have a two tiered justice system. No one held responsible for the coup attempt against Trump and now this. This Republic is lost along with our Constitution. But I will say this, you can only push the true patriotic people of this country so far. After that who knows!

  8. There is no justice in the USSA any longer. Justice is not blind and it is applied like a sledge hammer against good people while the wicked go unpunished. The American “city on a hill” is dead for now. How sad to see the light flicker because it’s been stole by the basest of people.

  9. Cops were right by her, behind her, in the video, it was manslaughter at least.
    “she was unarmed and she had several police with AR15’s in full battle rattle not even three feet behind her.

    It makes it hard to support the system under these circumstances.
    Kevin Morgan
    @Knamorgan55
    ·
    @SharylAttkisson
    This is a disgrace that the officer is not named or charged with anything. Ashli Babbit was unarmed and did NOT pose a threat at least in the opinion of other cops who were practically right next to her. Stinks of a coverup.

  10. There were police officers surrounding her with large weapons. These men didn’t shoot her. One gun behind closed doors shot and killed a young woman. We have a right to know who and why but we do not live in the land of the free any longer. May Our Great Lord return soon.

  11. 25 ft a lot and barricaded door between her and anybody else he shot her in Cold blood he’s a coward of the worst kind those that are praising him thinks he’s such a God damn hero let’s put him on the ABC NBC CBS ncnn News give that son of a b**** a metal heroes should be worshiped I think he’s a hero this put him out there to the public somebody will take his goddamn head off coward coward murderer

  12. I’ve seen the video when she falls after being shot.

    She was NOT the first in line, & her behavior was not threatening. This newly released statement by the “supposed” shooter’s counsel is not based in viewable fact. I doubt the brave, un-named “lieutenant” shooter even exists. It’s pure spin, in my opinion.

    Now, Just ask yourself how this would have played out if Ashley Babbit had been acting the same way – but was a Democrat who was protesting President Trump’s policies.

    2-tiered justice = NO justice.

  13. Their statement was full of insinuation as to the kind of people who may not be OK with a Marxist coup or her killing, as well as defense of the officer involved- in EXACT opposition to the attacks on police where the perp was black. This institutional racism is making me sick. God end this!

  14. The shooter was standing a dozen feet from behind a large gathering. What I could see was an unarmed person (Babbitt) struggling to get through a window. She was clearly an easy take-down had she entered as would be for anyone else who might have tried to enter. Without any doubt, this was an unnecessary and hyper over-reaction. Perhaps the shooter should have shouted “GUN, GUN, GUN” and then mistakenly pulled out his tazer and fired. That would have made for a more justified and reasoned reaction by the capitol police. Then you put them in handcuffs as they all enter.

  15. 99% narrative, inflammatory narrative; 1% facts.

    Fake news: no police officer was killed by “the mob”, either before or after this police officer fired the sole deadly shot.

    I hate Democrats. and this is just one more reason why – the intentionally inflammatory write-up; not the action at stake. Kudos however because this highly partisan attorney did not blame President Trump by name. History will not be kind to this type of divisive and inaccurate statement.

    1. Highly partisan attorney?

      Can the officer afford this partisan attorney.?
      (I remember the attorney representing Elian Gonzales’ father, a bell hop or door opener in Cuba. The next time is see this attorney in the news, he is on the Al Gore legal team, maybe in charge of the team during the 2000 election dispute.)

      Isn’t there a police union representative usually present?

      This appears to be a matter of denial of equal protection of the law. I do not mean the 14th Amendment kind, but the 5th Amendment denial of equal protection. Washington DC is a Federal jurisdiction. The cop is a Federal law enforcement officer. Ashli was killed in a Federal building. As I understand things, this should be able to be appealed directly to the Supreme Court. The US Government is the Defendant.

  16. This may be the saddest excuse I have ever read. Oh, if our lost veteran had been a minority, and the officer had been white this would be a totally different outcome. My heart and prayers go out to Ms. Babbitt’s family and friends, and to this Country that is slipping into the abyss. God help us all.

  17. That is unmitigated bullshit.
    At the very least it was reckless discharge of a fire arm since there were multiple officers in the line of fire.
    In Michigan, if she was openly brandishing a weapon it still would have been illegal to shoot her.

  18. This statement is wrong on so many levels. First, employing negatives: they could not find evidence that the officer did not reasonably think…(is this the same as they did find evidence that the officer did reasonably think?). He “saved yhe lives of …rioters”? The only one who died was the one he killed. The otherws were not inside, and died of natural causes. “He used tremendous restraint in firing only one shot.” Except that shot was a lethal one! This is an appalling decision and clearly based on political perception of the unarmed Ms. Babbit’s life undeserving of respect.

  19. Sharyl, I can’t help feeling skeptical about this whole story. I’ve watched the videos and am not convinced this whole thing wasn’t faked. I haven’t been able to find more than one short clip of her “husband” online, and a brief article with quotes from a “brother” and “throuple” girlfriend. That’s it. Why are no reporters really investigating this? Why are there no interviews with family members? Why is there almost nothing out there except recycled statements on her past? Her supposed best friend and sister in law set up a go-fund-me, but that woman’s Twitter account has not made one single personal comment about Ashli…ever. Just retweets. No personal photos posted as memorials. Nothing. Something doesn’t add up.

  20. “Have you told your mom?” Maeve asked.

    “Oh, you can imagine. I am telling her in bits and pieces. She is furious and wants me documenting everything. She wanted me to go to the police. But really, the Capitol Police? They protect them, not us.”

    From Tara Reade’s memoir LEFT OUT, p, 91; conversation with a friend shortly after Senator Joe Biden digitally raped her.

  21. The taking of the life of an unarmed woman should not be celebrated, is that not what we have seen continued rioting for? The officer will live with his actions the rest of his life.

  22. “this was an absolutely justified use of force, and the nation owes the lieutenant a debt of gratitude.” says Jara. How can “the nation” repay the “debt”, without knowing the lieutenant’s name? (Eye roll emoji)

    Justice Department: move along, nothing to see here…

  23. As a country, we have allowed our positions on basic safety to be perverted…We have metal detectors and guards at state courthouses and now Military troops patrolling our Federal Capitol…Yet we are shocked if a disturbed child is found with a gun at a school…We declare public spaces Gun Free zones to curb the Gun Violence Epidemic…Yet we have become numb to shootings and murders in major metropolitan areas that occur on a daily basis…Our current President makes vague overtures toward solutions for non-existent problems and the masses laud him…The problem is not the legally armed populace but, we are large and therefore an easy target…Politicians and the MSM don’t want to address the very real criminal issue because it would be hard work…It is much easier to stigmatize the legally owing and carrying public…And I, as a speck among the population, continue to arm myself on a daily basis for the protection of my family and myself.

  24. nonsense he should be fired then arrested and tried for murder..

    trespass in a public building does not allow you to kill some one..

    this woman was a threat to no one..

  25. I never imagined the level of corruption in the DOJ. I, mistakenly, thought that Barr was there to clean it up a bit. Yet, it is much worse now. It’s obvious the corrupt thugs just laid low until the election fraud was carried out. Now, like cockroaches, they are exiting their nests, not caring to hide their corruption any longer.
    I fear for my grandchildren, they likely will never know real liberty or a just government. That is, until God deals with this mess. So while people talk big, it’s seems that’s all it is…talk. We’ve allowed our justice system to thrive in corruption. We’ve allowed our elections to be hijacked. We watch as our freedom is being taken from us. Our forefathers, such as Patrick Henry, would be ashamed.

  26. I see so very many statements made by this attorney that are patently and irrevocably false. The “rioters” killed no one. They were not intent on killing anyone in the chamber, they were there to be heard and they were in “the peoples house.” He saved no lives, but he did take one and hers deserves justice.

  27. So if the officers actions were justified, as claimed, why not let a jury make that determination? It seems whenever a police officer engages in similar actions, they get indicted/charged/arrested within 24 hours, while this took 12 weeks to find (in)action. Unequal application of judicial standards based on political narratives has been the source of the exponential erosion of trust in our legal system.

  28. Again, this shooting was ruled a homicide, a murder, yet the perpetrator is unnamed and uncharged.

    The attorney’s claim about withholding the perp’s name because of death threats and people not knowing the facts would apply much more to the many shootings by police we could name. Yet those police officers are household names and have often been arrested and charged when they had far more reason to shoot or otherwise employ force on the suspects they were trying to apprehend. In the Derek Chauvin case, the prosecution’s own witnesses have not supported the murder charge, yet the jurors will legitimately fear for their lives if they fail to convict.

    None of us is safe in a country where the rule of law has been discarded in favor of narrative and mobs.

  29. Heroic? He hid in a hallway and fired at an unarmed woman attempting to force her way through a door. The heroic USCP officer is the one who diverted part of the mob into chasing him down a hallway toward a less sensitive area without having to resort to his side arm.

  30. If this police officer sharpshooter was a “hero”, what do you call the lines of police officers standing right beside Ms Babbitt doing nothing while she was breaking through the window?

    Enablers? Non-speaking walk on players? Props? Over-paid government employees? Co-conspirators? Russian agents? Democrats?

  31. Capitol Police EXECUTE harmless woman is what truly occurred. This is 100% a perfect representation of the state of this nation now. The elite wish nothing more than supreme power over all… jack boot thugs protect them. Justice will come, one way or another… it will be ugly.

  32. Pat McAvoy-Costin

    We need laws that apply to all. No more “a law for thee and not for me.” There should be a trial–and this officer should be judged like any other policeman who is involved in a shooting on the job. We don’t know the reasons why this decision was made. Was the officer wearing a body camera? And no one is rioting in the streets over the death of veteran who served her country for 15 years? She wasn’t armed. How is she different from a “peaceful protester” where police do not confront rioters while they are destroying government property? Something is fishy about this decision and the media just looks the other way. What a shame.

  33. Yes, she was there illegally. Yes, she may have ignored warnings not to come through the window. But then the next level of restraint/escalation is a lethal gunshot? WTF. There were multiple capitol police officers on her side of the window. Why didn’t they just tackle her? She was, by all accounts, unarmed and didn’t pose a threat to anybody. Did they think she was going to cause harm to congress folks? Nothing suggests that. This was a complete overreaction.

    On another issue here, why haven’t they been transparent and released details of the shooting? If this was a BLM riot, you know the officer would immediately be outed and known to the world. They are burying this. A completely different set of rules when it’s a leftist riot vs. Trump supporters causing the problems. That’s pretty scary.

  34. So the punishment for entering the Capital building, unarmed, during a protest is on-the-spot summary execution ? Vlad & Xi are tipping their hats….

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