Family of woman shot during Capitol riot sues government
The family of a woman fatally shot during the 2021 Capitol riot three years ago Saturday filed a lawsuit Friday against the U.S. government, asserting claims of negligence and wrongful death.
U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, 35 of San Diego, on Jan. 6, 2021, during the Capitol riot. Her husband Aaron Babbitt filed the lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in California, alleging several claims against the U.S. for the fatal shooting.
Conservative activist group Judicial Watch said in a Friday press release its lawyers are representing Aaron Babbitt in the lawsuit. Babbitt is seeking $30 million.
Ashli Babbitt was shot in her left shoulder, as she was trying to climb through a barricaded door near the House Speaker’s Lobby, and died at a nearby hospital. Her husband described her as a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.
U.S. Capitol Police also cleared Byrd of wrongdoing in 2021 after an internal review found he might have saved the lives of staffers and lawmakers.
But Babbitt said in the lawsuit his wife was ambushed when she was shot and multiple people yelled, “You just murdered her.”
35-vehicle pileup in Calif. leaves 2 dead, 9 injured
Two people were killed and nine others were injured in a 35-vehicle pileup on Interstate 5 in Bakersfield, California, on Saturday morning.
The pileup involved 17 cars and 18 big rigs, KABC reported. The California
Highway Patrol did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
KBAK reported that the crash happened at around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday on the southbound lanes.
The California Department of Transportation said the southbound lanes between SR-223 and Older River Road will be closed until further notice. Crews were working throughout the night to investigate and clean up the scene.
Trump didn’t sign Illinois pledge not to advocate for government overthrow
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s campaign knocked former President Donald Trump on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack for refusing to sign an Illinois loyalty oath that says he won’t advocate to overthrow the government.
The WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that Trump did not voluntarily sign the loyalty oath this year when he and his campaign registered for the primary ballot in Illinois. The former president signed the oath in 2016 and 2020.
Candidates who sign the oath – including Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis –attest that they “do not directly or indirectly teach or advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state or any unlawful change in the form of the governments thereof by force or any unlawful means.”
It also requires candidates to attest that they do not support communism or affiliate with communist organizations. The oath is “a vestige of the red-baiting era of the former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s,” according to WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.