Although the Jan. 6 unrest on Capitol Hill has been characterized by Democrats and the media as an “armed insurrection,” the only person to actually die from a gunshot wound during the events that day was a woman named Ashli Babbitt.
Despite the fact that her death occurred nearly five months ago, few details about it have been released. Now, a conservative group is demanding answers.
On Monday, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act seeking access to police and medical examiner investigations that were conducted following the incident, The Washington Times reported.
The lawsuit is seeking “all investigative reports, photographs, witness statements, dispatch logs, ballistics and officials’ electronic communications regarding the investigation into Babbitt’s death,” according to the Times.
Details hidden on Babbit’s killing
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton explained in a statement that the obscurity surrounding Babbitt’s killing is cause for suspicion.
“The normal course of action in a police-related shooting is to quickly inform the public of the details — but the lack of transparency in the killing of veteran Ashli Babbitt in the U.S. Capitol is unprecedented and obviously political,” he said.
“That Judicial Watch must file a lawsuit for basic information after five months of stonewalling is a scandal,” Fitton continued.
Family pursuing wrongful death claim
The Times noted that in addition to Judicial Watch’s case, Babbitt’s family is also filing a wrongful death suit seeking $10 million in compensation.
Terrell N. Roberts III, an attorney based in Maryland who is handling the family’s claim, compared how the government has behaved to a third world regime.
“Right now, we have no accountability — zero accountability — they give no explanation to justify the shooting and they do not even identify the officer. That is what they do in autocratic countries, not in the United States,” he said.
Video footage from Jan. 6 showed Babbitt being hit with a single bullet as she was attempting to crawl through a window inside the Capitol building.
The 35-year-old Air Force veteran was found to be unarmed at the time of her death. The Justice Department announced in April that no charges would be brought against the officer who killed her.
The post Judicial Watch files FOIA suit to get information about Ashli Babbit shooting at the Capitol first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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