Trump sends birthday wishes to woman killed at riot

Video played for family of ex-air force member shot in D.C. insurrection

Former U.S. president Donald Trump reportedly sent a birthday wish to Ashli Babbitt, who was shot dead by law enforcement officials during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump loyalists trying to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s election win.

“It is my great honour to address each of you gathered today to cherish the memory of Ashli Babbitt, a truly incredible person,” Trump said in the video posted to Twitter last week.

The Hill reports that the video was played for Babbitt’s friends and family at a gathering in Freeport, Texas. Trump honoured Babbitt for her service in the air force and referred to Jan. 6 as the “horrible day” in which she was “tragically” killed.

“Today would’ve been her birthday,” Trump said. “Happy birthday, Ashli.”

He claimed, “There was no reason Ashli should have lost her life that day.”

Trump also demanded “justice” for the California woman who was hit with a single shot while trying to force her way through a broken window in the Capitol, where lawmakers were being sheltered while an angry mob outside called for the hanging of the vice president.

The crowd had gathered for a rally supporting the 45th president’s baseless claims that he had in fact won the November

election in which he was defeated by more than 7 million votes.

Trump called for a “fair and non-partisan investigation” into Babbitt’s shooting by a Capitol Hill police officer, who was cleared by Capitol Hill Police investigators and faces no charges from the Department of Justice.

Video from the event also appears to show Babbitt’s mom repeating Trump’s unsupported allegations that Biden did not win the presidency. Babbitt would have been 36.