Does video evidence conclusively show that police ordered Ashli Babbitt to stop before she was shot during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol?
Video evidence and statements from the Department of Justice leave unclear if the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt told her to stop before firing. Babbitt was part of a mob that broke into the Capitol on January 6, 2021. When she was shot, Babbitt was attempting to climb through the broken glass of a barricaded door near the chamber where a joint session of Congress had convened to certify the 2020 presidential election.
The attorney for the officer who shot Babbitt said he identified himself and ordered “the mob to not come through the barricade,” according to The Associated Press.
After an investigation, the Justice Department decided not to pursue criminal charges against the officer. Its press statement explaining the investigation’s findings does not mention if the officer ordered Babbitt to stop.
On published videos of the incident, the officer’s instructions are not clearly audible amid other noise.