The Justice Department said Friday that a “settlement in principle” has been reached with rioter Ashli Babbitt’s family to resolve a lawsuit they filed over her death during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
At an emergency hearing Friday afternoon, DOJ lawyer Joseph Gonzalez and Robert Sticht, a lawyer for Babbitt’s husband, Aaron, acknowledged the settlement agreement but said nothing has been signed. They indicated the exact terms of the agreement were still in flux and would not be imminently formalized.
Neither attorney revealed whether the settlement includes a monetary component or other terms of the agreement. The Babbitt family initially sought $30 million, and a trial was scheduled to begin in July 2026.
Babbitt was shot and killed by law enforcement during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as she attempted to climb through a barricaded door to the Speaker’s lobby near the House chamber.
The lawsuit — filed by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch on behalf of Babbitt’s estate and her husband — alleged that U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd was negligent when he fired at Babbitt that day. An internal USCP investigation cleared Byrd of any wrongdoing, finding that his actions “potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death.”
However, the shooting was captured on video and transformed Babbitt into a martyr for the political right, which has portrayed her killing as unjust.
The parties previously signaled that settlement negotiations were underway, but news that an agreement had been reached first surfaced Friday in an emergency filing by attorney Terrell Roberts III, who was previously retained by Aaron Babbitt to bring the suit.
Roberts said he learned of the settlement when a “journalist of a national mainstream news outlet” contacted him for confirmation that one had been reached. He sought a temporary restraining order to ensure he’s given a 25 percent cut of any monetary settlement agreement for services completed under his prior agreement with Babbitt.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden, denied Roberts’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) but directed the parties to inform her of any objections to letting Roberts intervene on a limited basis so he is made aware when the settlement has been signed and can seek a lien before any funds are disbursed.
“Your TRO is denied, but I think you’ve gotten what you wanted, right?” Reyes asked. Roberts responded affirmatively.
Arguments over Roberts’s efforts to enforce a lien are set for May 12, and Sticht said an agreement between the parties should be finalized by May 8.
The settlement comes as the Trump administration has sought to unravel the Biden administration’s crackdown on those who participated in the riot. Trump pardoned nearly all rioters on his first day back in the White House and fired dozens of prosecutors who worked on criminal cases stemming from the attack.
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