No charges in shooting of woman during Capitol siege
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department won’t pursue criminal charges in the death of a woman who was shot by police during the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.
The woman, Ashli Babbitt, was among a crowd of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol in an effort to block certification of the 2020 election. A viral video showed her being shot by an officer as she attempted to climb through a smashed glass door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby.
“The investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber,“the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Justice Department said it found no evidence that the officer who shot Babbitt “willfully” used force that was “constitutionally unreasonable.”
“Evidence that an officer acted out of fear, mistake, panic, misperception, negligence, or even poor judgment cannot establish the high level of intent required,” according to the statement.
The Capitol police officer was inside the Speaker’s Lobby when he fired one round from his pistol, which struck Babbitt on the left shoulder, causing her to fall back onto the floor, according to the Justice Department statement. She later died at Washington Hospital Center.