The Trump administration has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who was killed when she tried to storm the House Speaker’s lobby during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to media reports.
Babbitt’s family filed the lawsuit in early 2024, seeking $30 million for her death. Financial details of the settlement weren’t revealed at a Friday hearing in a D.C. federal court, according to CBS News and Washington Post reports.
U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot and killed 35-year-old Babbitt as members of Congress were still in the lobby after Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol to try to stop congressional certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Babbitt’s mother, Micki Witthoeft, has emerged as a stalwart advocate for the Jan. 6 rioters who faced criminal charges in the months and years following the attack. She was charged with two traffic violations in early 2023, including failing to obey Capitol Police orders, during a protest on the two-year anniversary of the attack.
The settlement comes after Trump granted clemency to about 1,500 defendants who faced charges for their alleged – and in many instances, convicted – roles in the attack.
In the lawsuit, Babbitt’s estate alleged that Babbitt wrongfully died as a result of government negligence. Under the Biden administration, Justice Department lawyers moved to dismiss several of the claims in the lawsuit. Four days after Trump took office on Jan. 20, department lawyers and Babbitt’s estate asked for a scheduled court hearing on that motion to be delayed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s DOJ settles case with family of Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt
