‘Willing to die for Don’
Probe into rioter’s slay
The Justice Department is opening an investigation into the shooting death of Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot Wednesday.
Babbitt, 35, of San Diego died after she was shot in the chest by a Capitol Police officer while climbing through a smashed window in an attempt to enter the House chamber.
Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, told CBS News his office had opened a formal excessiveforce investigation related to Babbitt’s death. The probe will be handled by the office’s Civil Rights Division.
The same division is investigating the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick (below), also a military veteran, who was reportedly bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher as the mob entered the building.
Sicknick, a native of South River, NJ, and the youngest of three brothers, had served in the National Guard in Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan, his family said.
Meanwhile, a Babbitt friend labeled her death “an execution” and said Ashli had believed President Trump’s cause was “worth dying for.”
Heartbroken pal Jack Feeley, a fellow Air Force vet, described Babbitt to The Sun as a “true American.”
“She may have laid down her rifle, but she was still willing to lay down her life for her country and what she strongly believed in,” Feeley said. “I’m positive she’d be furious going down without a fight. That was an execution.”
He lamented that videos of the shooting were aired, saying it “breaks my heart to know millions of people watched my friend be executed on live television.”
Her mother-in-law previously told The Post that the family found out about her death while watching television. A day before she was killed, the married Babbitt tweeted “nothing will stop us,” while vowing that a “storm” would descend on Washington, DC, in 24 hours. She livestreamed the march to the Capitol from the rally held earlier, TMZ reported, and she claimed there were 3 million people at the event. “It was amazing to get to see the president talk,” Babbitt said as she marched. Feeley, who met Babbitt while both served in the Air Force in Maryland, said she was passionate about Trump and wanted “the end to corruption and the terrible things happening all the way from the top of government down to her local city officials.” He said she was a “hero,” not a “terrorist or Nazi.” “She was my best friend several years,” Feeley said. “She helped me through very difficult times after I got out of the service.” for