Ashli Babbitt shooting: Officer who fatally shot Capitol rioter says he ‘saved countless lives’
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The officer who who fatally shot Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt during the riot inside the halls of Congress on 6 January revealed his identity in an interview aired on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt on Thursday.
“I know that day I saved countless lives,” Lt. Michael Byrd said, speaking publicly about the shooting for the first time, after authorities previously declined to identify him. “I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job.”
Ms Babbitt has emerged as a far-right “martyr” whose name and the phrase “who killed Ashli Babbitt?” has been invoked by GOP lawmakers and former president Donald Trump, who has eulogised her in public remarks and on Fox News, in an apparent effort to deflect from scrutiny into the causes and narrative behind the attack and Republican liability supporting an effort to undermine democracy.
All that made it so when Lt Byrd’s named leaked online, the officer, who is Black, faced a torrent of threats and racist abuse.
The revelation of his identity comes amid renewed scrutiny of the 6 January riot from all sides.
Hours before the interview, a lawyer for Ms Babbitt’s family revealed Lt Byrd’s name and denounced her killing as
A group of seven Capitol Police officers also filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing former president Trump, far-right extremist groups and Trump allies of plotting to disrupt the certification of millions of Americans’ votes and subvert the outcome of the presidential election.
The lawsuit follows recent testimony of several officers to the House Select Committee to probe how the Trump-era White House and federal law enforcement planned its response to the attack, and how the administration fed into the movement that propelled it.
The family of Ms Babbitt – an Air Force veteran who amplified QAnon- and election-related conspiracy theories on social media before she travelled to Washington DC to participate in the riot – has also threatened a $10m wrongful death lawsuit and demanded records related to the attack, including the identity of the officer who killed her.
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Officer to reveal himself in televised interview, prompting warnings that exposure could revive right-wing threats
The US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt will publicly reveal his identity following attempts among federal law enforcement to limit his exposure in the wake of “numerous credible and specific threats” of violence against him and others by far-right figures.
His pre-taped interview to air on Thursday has drawn criticism reviving those warnings.
“I am intrigued and slightly concerned,” former FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi told MSNBC. “I’m monitoring communications from violent extremists – they want this guy, they want to find out who he is, many of them already know ... I’m intrigued why he feels now he needs to come forward and explain his actions.”
After he was cleared by federal law enforcement and Capitol police, finding that his actions fell within the agency’s use of force policies, “he needs to convey that,” Mr Figliuzzi added. “And we need to hear from him as to exactly what he found to be an imminent threat to life or seriously bodily harm to him [and others].”
Babbitt lawyer reportedly names officer as family crowdfunds wrongful death lawsuit
Maryland attorney Terry Roberts, who has accused the officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt of “ambushing” her as she broke into the House chambers, has reportedly named the officer, as the family crowdfunds a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $10m.
The attorney’s announcement arrived hours before the US Capitol Police officer will speak publicly for the first time in an interview to air on NBC News on Thursday night.
“I would call what he did an ambush,” Roberts said earlier this month. “I don’t think he’s a good officer. I think he’s reckless.”
Following an announcement from Capitol Police that the officer will not be disciplined, an attorney representing the officer said that “every piece of evidence that is released further validates the Lieutenant’s conduct. The Lieutenant exercised professionalism and restraint in heroically defending and protecting members of Congress and their staff during the violent insurrection on January 6th.”
Trump and others issued summonses in Capitol police lawsuit
Court summonses have been issued to Donald Trump and his allies and far-right groups targeted in a lawsuit from a group of US Capitol Police officers.
If they do not respond to the complaint within 21 days, they may face a default judgment for relief.
Latest Capitol rioter to face federal charges allegedly knocked officer unconscious
The latest Capitol rioter to be indicted by federal prosecutors faces a range of charges, including assaulting a police officer outside the Capitol building.
According to prosecutors, Ryan Samsel, wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, pushed down barricades and knocked officers down in the process. One officer lost consciousness. “We don’t have to hurt you, why are you standing in our way?” Mr Samsel reportedly said.
The officer was transported to an emergency room and treated for a concussion, prosecutors said.
Mr Samsel then allegedly tried to pull a shield away from another officer.
NBC to air interview with Capitol officer who fatally shot rioter
Coming up on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: The US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt will speak publicly for the first time.
The programme is leading with a report on the ISIS-K blast in Kabul that killed more than 60 people including 12 US service members.
‘He’s a hero to me’: DC police officer supported Capitol officer breaking silence in NBC interview
Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone told The Daily Beast that he was among a group of people supporting the US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during his interview with NBC, to air tonight.
“He’s a hero to me,” he told the publication. “I’m incredibly humbled to have been able to be there to support him this morning [during the taping of the interview]. I don’t even have the words to describe how difficult this is for him and his family… He is essentially sacrificing himself at the altar of our democracy today in pursuit of the truth.”
Capitol officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt reveals identity in first interview
The US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot on 6 January has revealed his identity during his first interview following the assault on Congress.
Lt Michael Byrd, who guarded glass doors leading to a lobby outside the House of Representatives, where lawmakers and staff were huddled, told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt that his single shot “saved countless lives.”
“I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger,” he told the network in an interview aired on 26 August. “And that’s my job.”
The Independent’s Alex Woodward has the latest ahead of the blockbuster interview.
Capitol officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt reveals identity in first interview
The US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot on 6 January has revealed his identity during his first interview following the assault on Congress.
Black officer who shot Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt went ‘into hiding’ after torrent of racist abuse
The Washington police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who became a martyr in right-wing circles after dying during the 6 January Capitol riot, says he had to go into hiding once his name was leaked.
Lt. Michael Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the US Capitol police is Black, and said he faced a torrent of racist abuse once his identity made its way onto conservative media sites. I’ve got more details here.
Officer who shot Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt went into hiding after racist abuse
The Capitol Police officer defended his decision to shoot Ashli Babbitt, saying it saved ‘countless lives’
Michael Byrd: Capitol Officer would have done ‘same thing’ to protect Trump if he was nearby
Though his name was only revealed publicly today, high-profile conservatives have gone after the US Capitol police officer who shot rioter Ashli Babbitt on 6 January, denouncing the killing as a “murder.”
That, according to the officer who pulled the trigger, Lt Michael Byrd, is “disheartening.” He said he would take the exact same actions to protect Donald Trump and his family if they had been nearby.
“If he was in the room or anywhere and I’m responsible for him, I was prepared to do the same thing for him and his family,” the officer told NBC news on Thursday.
When anchor Lester Holt asked Mr Byrd, even after the comments Mr Trump and others have made, whether he would still want to protect him, this was his response: “I sure would because it’s my job,” adding, “I do my job for Republican, for Democrat, for white, for Black, red, blue, green.”
Officer who shot Capitol rioter says her being unarmed didn’t matter
The officer who fatally shot unarmed Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt during the 6 January US Capitol riot has provided new information on the crucial moments that led up to the killing.
Lt Michael Byrd, who identified himself publicly for the first time on Thursday, told NBC News that even though he wasn’t sure if the woman had a weapon, “it did not” change his decision to pull the trigger.
“I had been yelling and screaming as loud as I was, ‘Please stop. Get back. Get back. Stop,’” the officer told anchor Lester Holt. “We had our weapons drawn.”
During the riot, Mr Byrd and other Capitol police officers were essentially barricaded in between the House of Representatives chamber and the outside of the Capitol, piling up furniture as a makeshift defense.
As the crowd penetrated deeper into the building, the veteran officer said his radio picked up messages of police being overrun in other sectors, and a report, which later turned out to be false, that one of the rioters had fired a gun inside the Capitol.
The Capitol Police and Justice Department cleared Lt Byrd of wrongdoing, though Ms Babbitt’s family is reportedly launching a wrongful death suit against him.
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