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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Signing off for now
That’s all for today’s live coverage of the aftermath of the Ashli Babbitt shooting.
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