WARNING: Live graphic footage from the incident inside the U.S. Capitol Building.
“My sister was 35 and served 14 years — to me that’s the majority of your conscious adult life. If you feel like you gave the majority of your life to your country and you’re not being listened to, that is a hard pill to swallow. That’s why she was upset.”
~ Roger Witthoeft, Ashli’s brother.
“We have to be committed to defending free speech however impolitic, or unpopular, or even wrong because defending that is the only barrier to violence. That’s because the only way we can influence one another short of physical violence is through speech, through communicating ideas. The moment you say certain ideas can’t be communicated you create a circumstance where people have no alternative but to go hands on with you.” ~ Sam Harris
Why were the Capitol Police not prepared for this crowd. Even though Trump rallies have always been peaceful, any time you have huge crowds, it is easy for agitators to take control. This is a travesty and a tragedy. Maybe all the violent riots around America have given people the belief that this kind of behavior is okay. It is never okay. Now Ashli Babbitt and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick have both perished needlessly.
Ashli Babbitt was a 14 year U.S. Air Force veteran with two tours in Iraq, a 35 year old wife, mother, daughter, and patriot. Ashli was shot and killed by an unnamed Capitol Police officer inside the U.S. Capitol building as people streamed into the building on Wednesday, June 6, 2021.
Tony Mazziott is Ashli’s grandfather, and he told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that Ashli, was an “excellent patriot” and a “loving person.”
“She served time in the military and she’s passionate about everything, particularly Donald Trump for some reason,” he said. Family members said Babbitt served more than a decade in the Air Force.
Mazziott went on to say to CBS: “She died at a young age. She did many tours in Afghanistan for our country and shot by someone in our country.”
Ashli Babbitt’s husband, Aaron Babbitt, said that she “loved her country and she was doing what she thought was right to support her country, joining up with like-minded people that also love their president and their country.”
Ashli’s ex-husband, Timothy McEntee, said she was “a wonderful woman with a big heart and a strong mind,” according to the Washington Examiner. “I am in a state of shock and feel absolutely terrible for her family,” McEntee said. “She loved America with all her heart. It’s truly a sad day.”
Ashli’s Twitter account identified her as a veteran, Libertarian and supporter of the Second Amendment. She often retweeted comments by the president and his supporters about Wednesday’s gathering and their discredited claims of election fraud. Her last comment, posted Friday, read, “Jan 6, 2021” with American flag and thumbs-up emojis.
The Twitter account also included news of a recall effort against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, including an endorsement by Kevin Faulconer, a former San Diego mayor. Aaron and Ashli Babbitt ran a pool service business in Spring Valley, California where they posted a sign on the door that read ‘MASK FREE AUTONOMOUS ZONE BETTER KNOWN AS AMERICA … tyranny, lawlessness, disrespect and hate for your fellow man will not be tolerated.’
The Capitol Police stated the officer who shot Ashli Babbitt was placed on administrative leave, per department policy, and the officer was suspended. The shooting is being investigated by D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Why were the Capitol Police not prepared for this crowd. Even though Trump rallies have always been peaceful, any time you have huge crowds, it is easy for agitators to take control. This is a travesty and a tragedy. Maybe all the violent riots around America have given people the belief that this kind of behavior is okay. It is never okay. Now Ashli Babbitt and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick have both perished needlessly.
Analysis of Ashli Babbitt Video Suggests Coordinated Actions—Interview W. Masako Ganaha | Crossroads
During the protests at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, among the five people killed was Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt. The behavior of several individuals around the violence, however, suggests that there was coordinated action among the agitators. To learn more about this we’ve invited to speak with us independent Japanese journalist Masako Ganaha.
