Woman killed was veteran who embraced conspiracy theories

The woman shot dead by police during Wednesday’s siege of the U.S. Capitol was identified by police as Ashli Babbitt, a U.S. Air Force veteran whose social media activity indicates she embraced far-fetched right-wing conspiracy theories.

Babbitt, 35, was an avid supporter of U.S. President Trump, her husband told KUSI News. Her posts and retweets on Twitter backed Trump’s false assertions that he was defeated because Democrats elaborately rigged the Nov. 3 election.

The Twitter account @Ashli_Babbitt, which includes photographs of her, shared many posts in recent weeks flagging her excitement over attending the Trump rally on Jan. 6.

The day before, she wrote: “Nothing will stop us ... they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours ... dark to light!”

Trump ended a speech on Wednesday with exhortations to his supporters to march on the Capitol. Shortly after, some of them began smashing their way in while Congress met to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Video of the shooting posted by a freelance journalist on social media shows a chaotic moment between the Trumpsupporting intruders and police in a hallway in the Capitol. There is the sound of a single gunshot before the video shows a woman, whose appearance matches that of Babbitt’s photos, wearing a Trump flag on the ground, bleeding profusely and visibly in shock.