Part of the law enforcement response to the January 6 United States Capitol attack | |
![]() Babbitt prior to the January 6 United States Capitol attack | |
Date | January 6, 2021 |
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Time | 2:44 pm (UTC-5) |
Location | United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Coordinates | 38°53′23″N77°00′40″W / 38.88972°N 77.01111°W |
Type | Killing by a law enforcement officer |
Cause | Deadly force used by officer guarding members of Congress from the Capitol insurrection rioters |
Participants | Michael Byrd |
January 6 United States Capitol attack |
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Timeline • Planning |
Background |
Participants |
Aftermath |
On January 6, 2021, Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the attack on the United States Capitol. [1] [2] [3] She was part of a crowd of supporters of then U.S. president Donald Trump who breached the United States Capitol building seeking to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. [4] [5] [6]
Babbitt's attempt to climb through a shattered window beside a barricaded door into the Speaker's Lobby was thwarted when she was shot in the left shoulder by a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer. [7] [8] [9] [10] After a USCP emergency response team administered aid, Babbitt was transported to Washington Hospital Center, where she died. [11] [12] The USCP deemed the shooting was "lawful and within Department policy" and "potentially saved Members (of Congress) and staff from serious injury and possible death". [13] [14]
After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, [15] then-incumbent Donald Trump pursued an aggressive and unprecedented [16] effort to overturn the election, [17] [18] with support and assistance from his campaign, his proxies, his political allies, and many of his supporters. These efforts culminated in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, the day set for Congressional certification of the Electoral College vote count.
Babbitt, 35 years old at the time of her death, was raised in a mostly apolitical family near San Diego, California. [19] In 2004, she enlisted in the United States Air Force, where she served 12 years; while on active duty, she met her first husband, Staff Sgt. Timothy McEntee. Babbitt was deployed at least eight times by 2014, [20] including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar; from 2010 onward, she served in the Air National Guard. Six of her years in service were spent in a "Capital Guardians" unit of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, whose mandate is to defend the Washington D.C. region and quell civil unrest. [21] [19] In 2014 Babbitt served as a "mentor" to less-experienced airmen about to go on their first deployment. [22] She reached the rank of senior airman, a "relatively low rank" for a 12-year veteran according to The Washington Post . [21] [23] [24] [25]
From 2015 to 2017, near the end of her service, she supplemented her income by working as security at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Maryland. There, she met Aaron Babbitt, who would become her second husband. She filed for divorce from her first husband in 2018. [19]
In 2016, she faced criminal charges of reckless endangerment in Maryland after she allegedly repeatedly smashed her SUV into a vehicle being driven by a former girlfriend of Aaron Babbitt. [19] [26] Citing ongoing harassment, the victim obtained multiple judicial orders forbidding Ashli any contact with her. [26]
In 2018, Babbitt moved back to California with her second husband and they purchased a pool servicing business. She worked there with her brother and several other relatives. [19]
Babbitt voted for Barack Obama at least once: asked by another Twitter user on November 15, 2018, if she had "supported Obama the same way [she] supported Trump?" she replied "[...] yes I did [...] I think Obama did great things... he jacked some shit up... but I think he did do a lot of good... at a time where we needed him. I voted for him!" [27] She later registered as a Libertarian. [21]
According to her brother, she became frustrated with such issues as the number of homeless people in San Diego and the difficulties of running a small business. [19] As she struggled professionally, Babbitt came to embrace the radical right. On July 1, 2019, a judge issued a $71,000 judgment against her pool business for failing to repay a loan; around the same time, she supported Donald Trump and started following and promoting conspiracy theories. [21] In November 2019, Babbitt tweeted about Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory that senior Democrats were operating a child sex-trafficking ring. [28] By February 2020, Babbitt publicly supported QAnon, a broader far-right conspiracy theory that expanded Pizzagate's claims by adding the concept of a worldwide cabal of Satan-worshipping child abusers whom Trump is secretly fighting. [29] [30] [21] One customer recalled having stopped doing business with the company in 2020 after Babbitt unexpectedly delivered a political rant over the telephone. [31]
Babbitt was highly active on social media through her Twitter handle @CommonAshSense. She seldom posted original content: most of her posts were retweets, frequently of messages from conservative and right-wing figures like Michael Flynn and Jack Posobiec, and conservative news sites like Right Side Broadcasting. [32] According to Marc-André Argentino, a researcher studying QAnon and other extremist groups, Babbitt was not "a leader or major influencer within the QAnon movement", and was not involved in selling QAnon-themed merchandise. She had nonetheless tweeted regularly about the conspiracy theory since February 2020. Babbitt posted about 50 times a day on Twitter; on election day, she posted 77 times. [33]
After the election, Babbitt rejected the results and began supporting the Stop the Steal movement. [28] On January 1, 2021, Babbitt announced plans to travel to DC for January 6. [28]
A central belief among QAnon believers is that Trump was planning a massive sting operation on the "cabal", with mass arrests of thousands of cabal members to take place on a day known as "The Storm". [9] [34] On January 5, 2021, the day before the assault on the Capitol, Babbitt tweeted:
Nothing can stop us....they can try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light.... [35]
On January 6, prior to her arrival at the Capitol, Babbitt retweeted messages by Trump lawyer and QAnon promoter L. Lin Wood demanding that Vice President Mike Pence, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts resign and that charges be brought against Pence and Rosenstein. [36] [37] [38]
Starting in December, Trump repeatedly encouraged his supporters to protest in Washington, D.C., on January 6 in support of his campaign to overturn the election results, [39] telling his supporters to "Be there, will be wild!". [40] The Washington Post editorial board criticized Trump for urging street protests, referring to previous violence by some Trump supporters at two rallies and his statement during a presidential debate telling the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by". [41] Multiple groups of die-hard Trump supporters staged rallies in Washington on that day: Women for America First; the Eighty Percent Coalition (also at Freedom Plaza) (the group's name refers to the belief that approximately 80% of Trump voters do not accept the legitimacy of Biden's win); and "The Silent Majority" (a group organized by a South Carolina conservative activist). [39] [42] George Papadopoulos and Roger Stone, ardent allies of Trump, headlined some of the events. In addition to the formally organized events, the Proud Boys, other far-right groups, and white supremacists vowed to descend on Washington on January 6, with some threatening violence and pledging to carry weapons. [39] Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio said that his followers would "be incognito" and would "spread across downtown DC in smaller teams". [42]
As the certification process was underway, Trump gave a speech encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol. Many of them did, whereupon they joined other protesters already gathered in the area and violently breached and stormed the Capitol, eventually entering the Senate chamber as well as numerous offices. The Congressional proceedings were suspended, the legislators were taken to secure locations, and Nancy Pelosi was evacuated. [43]Speaker Pelosi was evacuated from the Capitol complex. [44] It was reported that Vice President Pence had been also evacuated, but he remained in a secure location inside the Capitol. [45] [46]
Rioters occupied the empty Senate chamber while federal law enforcement officers defended the evacuated House floor. [47] [48]
Capitol police were overrun by the rioters. [49]
At 2:44 p.m., law enforcement were trying to "defend two fronts" to the House Chamber, and "a lot of members [of Congress] and staff that were in danger at the time". [50] [51] Pipe bombs had been discovered outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, [52] [53] and Capitol Police officers had been warned that many attackers were carrying concealed weapons. [54]
Babbitt, wearing a Trump flag as a cape, was among several dozen rioters who approached the doors to the Speaker's Lobby, adjacent to the House chambers. [7] [55] Three uniformed officers were posted outside the Lobby where they were threatened by the crowd. One member of the mob yelled, "Fuck the Blue" (blue being a reference to the police). One officer guarding the doors told the others "They're ready to roll", and the three officers moved away from the barricaded doors leading to the Speaker's Lobby. [7] No longer impeded by police, rioter Zachary Jordan Alam smashed a glass window beside the doors. [13] [56] On the other side of those doors, many lawmakers and staff were being evacuated by Capitol Police, [7] but some were trapped in the House balcony. [57]
After "he's got a gun" was yelled several times when Lieutenant Michael Byrd aimed his weapon, [58] Babbitt, hoisted by two men, [19] began to climb through the shattered window. She was then shot in the left shoulder [10] by Lieutenant Byrd [11] [7] and fell back among the other protesters. [19] Babbitt had been warned not to proceed through the window: one witness recalled that "A number of police and Secret Service were saying 'Get back! Get down! Get out of the way!'; [Babbitt] didn't heed the call." [59]
Many rioters immediately began to leave the scene, making room for a Capitol Police emergency response team to get in and administer aid, and Babbitt was transported to Washington Hospital Center where she later was declared dead. [7] Some media reports described Babbitt as "unarmed" at the time of the shooting, [60] [61] but according to a January 11, 2021, crime scene examination report by the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, the police "recovered a 'Para Force' folding knife in Ms. Babbitt's pants pocket" after she was shot. [62] [63] [64] [65] [66]
U.S. Representative Markwayne Mullin, a witness to Babbitt's attempted breach, said that Lieutenant Byrd "didn't have a choice" but to shoot, and that his action "saved people's lives". [50] [67]
The shooting was recorded on several cameras, and footage was widely circulated. [68] John Earle Sullivan, among those who recorded footage of the shooting, was arrested for his role in the attack. [69] Zachary Alam was also arrested for his role in the attack. [70] [71] MSNBC aired live video of her body being rushed past the camera on a stretcher, outside the Capitol building. [72]
Following the routine process for shootings by Capitol Police officers, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the United States Department of Justice investigated Babbitt's death and made a determination that the shooting was "lawful and within Department policy". [3] [13] [73] Upon clearing Byrd, USCP released a press statement saying his action "potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death". [14]
After being cleared of wrongdoing, Byrd made his name public in an August 2021 interview for NBC News. [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] He said his name had been previously revealed in right-wing media and online forums and that he had received racist (Byrd is African-American) and violent threats, causing him to remain in hiding for several months. Looking back on his January 6 experience, Byrd said: "Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were. There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out. If they get through that door, they're into the House chamber and upon the members of Congress." He stated that he had pulled the trigger as a "last resort" after the mob of protesters ignored his repeated orders to get back, and that he had no idea at that moment that Babbitt was unarmed and was a woman. Byrd commented: "I know that day I saved countless lives. 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". [60]
Though they deplored Babbitt's death shortly after the event, few among Republican Members of Congress and conservative media initially claimed any wrongdoing from law enforcement, or suggested that it warranted a backlash. Gradually, though, efforts were made to suggest that Babbitt was a martyr, or at least a patriot who was unjustly killed. [79] Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin were sympathetic to Babbitt, with Levin understating Babbitt's actions and claiming that she had just been "walking around with the rest". U.S. Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said Babbitt had been "executed", later doubling down on that comment and adding that the police officer had been "lying in wait" and demanding to know his name. This drew a rebuke from representative Liz Cheney, who accused Gosar of "[smearing] the men and women who defended us". The Washington Post reported in June 2021, "increasingly, key elements of the conservative movement [were] suggesting Ashli Babbitt was a martyr". [79] According to The New York Times , these included far-right extremists and white supremacists, [80] some of whom also viewed Babbitt as a "freedom fighter". [80] Democratic strategist Mark Burns said this was a "dangerous development for a Republican Party with members [28] increasingly comfortable pressing for and defending political violence". [81] Both he and David Frum in The Atlantic compared these efforts to the Nazi glorification of Horst Wessel. [82]
Some QAnon supporters, including Lin Wood, have said that Babbitt is still alive and that her death was a "false flag" operation. [28] [83]
In October 2021, Trump recorded a video message arguing that "There was no reason Ashli should've lost her life that day. We must all demand justice for Ashli and her family". [84] [85] [1]
Russian president Vladimir Putin condemned the shooting of Babbitt, describing it as an "assassination". [86] Ernesto Araújo, the foreign minister of far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, called for an investigation into Babbitt's death. [87]
Babbitt's mother, Micki Witthoeft, became politically active following her daughter's death. In July 2021, she appeared at a Donald Trump rally where she was introduced by Paul Gosar and received a standing ovation from the crowd. During the rally, Trump expressed condolences to Witthoeft and acknowledged that Babbitt had died trying to salvage his presidency. Witthoeft later said in an interview that she was writing letters of support to January 6 arrestees and commented that her daughter had "made the ultimate sacrifice to bring attention to a stolen election. Half the country loves her and half the country hates her. It's weird to have your child belong to the world". [88] Babbitt's husband told reporters that he does not want violence done in his wife's name, after being asked about comments made by Michael Braynard, the organizer of the Justice for J6 rally, which was dedicated in part to Babbitt. [89]
Babbitt's name and the circumstances of her death have been invoked by various groups. Shortly after her death, Babbitt's name and image were used widely by extremist groups on social media groups, such as Parler and Telegram, with some using white nationalist and antisemitic themes. [90]
In February 2022, a group of American truckers attempting to emulate the Canadian truckers protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates told reporters that they were also protesting Babbitt's death along with issues such as COVID-19 restrictions and critical race theory. [91]
In May 2023, during a round of tit for tat sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Byrd was one of 500 Americans to have financial and travel restrictions imposed on them by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which said that the list included "those in...law enforcement agencies who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called storming of the Capitol." [92] [93]
On January 5, 2024, Judicial Watch filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Babbitt's husband, Aaron Babbitt, and her estate, [94] seeking $30 million in damages from the federal government. [95] The lawsuit is funded by Crowdfunding, which raised $462,000 for the lawsuit. Having been filed almost three years after Babbit's death, the lawsuit missed the two-year statute of limitations imposed by the Federal Tort Claims Act. But the lead attorney for the plaintiff, Terry Roberts, believes that the two-year statute of limitations set by the Federal Tort Claims Act might not apply either because the statute of limitations set by state law trumps the limitations set in the federal law, or because COVID restrictions that were in effect during the time of the death should give relief with regards to the statute of limitations. [96]
The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories. It answers to the Capitol Police Board and is the only full-service federal law enforcement agency appointed by the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.
QAnon is a far-right American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". Those claims have been relayed and developed by online communities and influencers. Their core belief is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters is operating a global child sex trafficking ring that conspired against president Donald Trump. QAnon has direct roots in Pizzagate, an Internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier, but also incorporates elements of many other theories. QAnon has been described as a cult.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.
Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, Q Shaman, and Yellowstone Wolf, is an American far-right conspiracy theorist, rioter, politician, media figure, and felon who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, for which he was convicted after a guilty plea on charges of obstructing an official proceeding. He is a supporter of former US president Donald Trump and a former believer and disseminator of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
John Earle Sullivan, also known as Activist John, is an American political activist and self-identified photojournalist who participated in the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack. In November 2023, he was convicted by a jury of felony obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and five misdemeanors.
The following article is a broad timeline of the course of events surrounding the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, by rioters supporting United States President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol after assembling on the Ellipse of the Capitol complex for a rally headlined as the "Save America March".
In the aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, after drawing widespread condemnation from the U.S. Congress, members of his administration, and the media, 45th U.S. President Donald Trump released a video-taped statement on January 7 to stop the resignations of his staff and the threats of impeachment or removal from office. In the statement, he condemned the violence at the U.S. Capitol, saying that "a new administration will be inaugurated", which was widely seen as a concession, and his "focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power" to the Joe Biden administration. Vanity Fair reported that Trump was at least partially convinced to make the statement by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who told Trump a sufficient number of Senate Republicans would support removing him from office unless he conceded. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary, had attempted to distance the administration from the rioters' behavior in a televised statement earlier in the day. On January 9, The New York Times reported that Trump had told White House aides he regretted committing to an orderly transition of power and would never resign from office. In a March 25 interview on Fox News, Trump defended the Capitol attackers, saying they were patriots who posed "zero threat", and he criticized law enforcement for "persecuting" the rioters.
The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.
Eugene Goodman is an American United States Capitol Police officer who diverted invading rioters from the United States Senate chamber during the January 6 Capitol attack. Goodman is a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Iraq War. He served as the Acting Deputy Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate from January 20, 2021, to March 2, 2021.
Supporters of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, held small-scale armed protests and demonstrations at U.S. state capitols in the five days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, in opposition to the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, which continued after the failure of the violent January 6 attempt to overturn the election in Trump's favor. Pro-Trump groups failed to stage organized dissent or affect the transition of power in an environment of deterrence and heightened security.
The National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, known colloquially as the January 6 commission, was an unsuccessful proposal to create a commission that would have investigated the January 6 United States Capitol attack. On February 15, 2021, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced that she planned to create a "9/11-type commission". The details were initially negotiated by Republican John Katko, and would have consisted of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. A bill forming the commission passed the House of Representatives on May 19, with all Democrats and 35 Republicans voting in support of it. However, it was blocked by Senate Republicans on May 28, with 54 Senators voting in favor and 35 voting against, failing to clear the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. By the end of the month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes. That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack, and to 1,200 by the third anniversary, at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.
The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., became the meeting place of the United States Congress when the building was initially completed in 1800. Since that time, there have been many violent and dangerous incidents, including shootings, fistfights, bombings, poisonings and a major riot.
Law enforcement mounted a response to the January 6 United States Capitol attack, initially failing to maintain security perimeters and protect parts of the building from being breached and occupied, but succeeding at protecting members of Congress, and subsequently, as reinforcements arrived, to secure the breached Capitol.
Howard Charles Liebengood, a United States Capitol Police officer, died by suicide on January 9, 2021, three days after he participated in the law enforcement response to the Capitol attack. He was the first of what were reported as two police suicides in the immediate aftermath of the attack, though Metropolitan Police (MPD) officer Jeffrey L. Smith's widow disputes the manner of death. In the months after the civil disturbance at the Capitol, it was generally reported that the deaths of five people who were present have, to varying degrees, been related to the event. Some members of Congress and press reports included these two in the number of fatalities, for a total of seven.
The Justice for J6 rally was a right-wing demonstration in Washington, D.C., in support of hundreds of people who were arrested and charged following the January 6 United States Capitol attack. It occurred on September 18, 2021. The event attracted 100–200 activists. It was organized by a former Trump campaign staffer. The event was noted for extensive security preparations and concerns over possible unrest.
Since the movement's emergence in 2017, adherents of the QAnon far-right conspiracy theory have been involved in a number of controversial events, some of them violent, resulting in the filing of criminal charges and one conviction for terrorism.
Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol is a 2021 American documentary short film about the January 6 Capitol attack by supporters of former president Donald Trump, reported by The New York Times.
Alan Hostetter is an American convicted criminal, anti-lockdown activist and founder of the American Phoenix Project who took part in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
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. USCP Officers had barricaded the Speaker's Lobby with furniture before a rioter shattered the glass door. If the doors were breached, the rioters would have immediate access to the House Chambers. The officer's actions were consistent with the officer's training and USCP policies and procedures.
Trump's efforts to cling to power are unprecedented in American history. While political parties have fought over the results of presidential elections before, no incumbent president has ever made such expansive and individualized pleas to the officials who oversee certification of the election results.
President Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election are unprecedented in American history and an even more audacious use of brute political force to gain the White House than when Congress gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency during Reconstruction.
Since joining the Air Force eight years ago on active duty, McEntee has deployed seven times. This deployment with the 113th SFS will be her eighth total deployment and her second since joining the DCANG.
[T]hanks to deployment veterans [...] the newer airmen are in good hands and have the opportunity to seek mentorship and advice from those who have deployed on numerous occasions such as Senior Airman Ashli McEntee. Since joining the Air Force eight years ago on active duty, McEntee has deployed seven times. This deployment with the 113th SFS will be her eighth total deployment and her second since joining the DCANG. While preparing for deployment here and at Eglin AFB, she also found herself in a mentoring position to the younger and newer airmen for whom this will be their first time "down range." "The newer airmen have been coming to us and asking about the living conditions, the weather, the gear, the schedule, how we work as teams, the hours we work," McEntee said. "As we have a large amount of first timers deploying with us, I think we can offer comfort and knowledge."
Ashli Babbitt tweeted 'the storm is here' ahead of a violent protest
A Twitter account linked to Babbitt, which was reviewed extensively by Law&Crime Wednesday night, indicates that Babbitt was a staunch QAnon adherent who retweeted dozens of conspiracy-theory-laden missives originally posted by Georgia attorney L. Lin Wood.
About 7:30 p.m., the figure placed one outside the Democratic National Committee, grainy surveillance video released by the FBI shows. The suspect then walks through the residential streets behind the Capitol and places another pipe bomb outside the Republican National Committee.
Only 17 hours later — and just before the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a sea of pro-Trump rioters — were the pipe bombs discovered. It quickly became one of the highest-priority investigations for the FBI and the Justice Department.
A DC Department of Forensic Sciences crime scene examination report filed January 11, 2021, indicated that among Babbitt's personal possessions was a 'Para force' folding knife. [...] According to the investigators they, 'recovered "a para force" folding knife in Ms. Babbitt's pants pocket.'
Recovered a 'Para Force' folding knife in Ms. Babbitt's pants pocket;
There's a knife in her pocket.
They would say she's unarmed, but it's not true. She was carrying a knife. There's a photo of [Babbitt's knife] on the cover of the book. You could say, well, it's a small knife. Really? That knife is plenty big enough.
Babbitt served in the Air Force under the married name of Ashli Elizabeth McEntee ... she had been a staunch Trump supporter
Since Ms. Babbitt's death, far-right extremists and white supremacists have claimed her as a martyr and a 'freedom fighter', even reproducing her image on flags and with anti-Semitic imagery. Many have demanded the release of the name of the officer who shot her.