The Trump administration has reached a settlement with the family of Ashli Babbitt, the Trump supporter who was shot and killed while in the mob breaching the House Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021.
Multiple sources told CBS News the settlement has been reached in principle but is not yet signed. In a court proceeding Friday, a plaintiff’s attorney confirmed the settlement in principle was reached. It would avert a trial and further proceedings in a $30 million civil suit filed by the conservative activist group Judicial Watch on behalf of Babbitt’s estate, including her late husband.
Babbitt’s death was a rallying point for Trump loyalists and Capitol rioters who alleged police used unnecessary force in stopping the mob on Jan. 6. In the civil lawsuit, Babbitt’s estate alleged U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd was negligent in the issue of force and his firearm. The suit also argued Byrd was not in uniform and was wearing a COVID mask when he opened fire against Babbitt. The suit accused Byrd of failing to “de-escalate.”
“Ashli was unarmed,” the lawsuit said. “Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby. Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone.”
The case, which was initially filed in California, was transferred to the Washington, D.C., federal court in 2024 and was defended by the Justice Department under the Biden administration.
In a 2024 court filing, the department argued, “Ms. Babbitt unlawfully entered the Capitol. She made her way to the east doors of the Speaker’s Lobby situated immediately behind the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, the site of Joint Sessions of Congress. Although officers had barricaded the Speaker’s Lobby doors with heavy furniture, demonstrators broke through the glass panels of the lobby doors and matching windows (called “sidelights”) on either side of the doors.”
It went on to say, “Michael Byrd, a U.S. Capitol Police lieutenant, was positioned on the other side of the lobby doors. When Ms. Babbitt, wearing a backpack, tried to climb through a sidelight into the Speaker’s Lobby, Lt. Byrd fatally shot her.”
In an August 2021 internal review, the U.S. Capitol Police said Byrd saved lives and did not engage in misconduct.
“This officer and the officer’s family have been the subject of numerous credible and specific threats for actions that were taken as part of the job of all our officers: defending the Congress, Members, staff and the democratic process,” the review said. “The actions of the officer in this case potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol and to the House Chamber where Members and staff were steps away.”
Footage from Jan. 6 shows Babbitt trying to climb through a smashed window as the mob sought to breach the House Speaker’s Lobby, where the counting of the electoral votes had been interrupted. Members of Congress were evacuating the area during the riot.
Babbitt’s mother, Micki Wittehoff helped lead a nightly protest outside the Washington, D.C., jail for more than two years, in defense of U.S. Capitol riot defendants and convicted felons. Wittehoff’s advocacy helped secure meetings with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, references to Babbitt by President Trump and a selfie photo with Kash Patel, who later was confirmed as the director of the FBI.
Hours after he was inaugurated, the president issued a blanket pardon for more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants. The Justice Department has fired prosecutors who handled the Jan. 6 cases.
Last month, Brendan Ballou, one of the Jan. 6 prosecutors who resigned after Trump took office told CBS News the pardons and firings were an effort to whitewash history.
“The goal here is to rewrite the history of Jan. 6,” Ballou said. “There are enormous number of politicians whose whole careers now depend on that day being forgotten because if it’s remembered, people will realize they are supporting a president that tried to incite an insurrection and overthrow the peaceful democratic transfer of power. And so there’s a concerted effort by these folks to make sure that that history is forgotten, and firing those prosecutors is part of that effort.”
