Babbit was killed by gunshot wound on the Jan. 6 attempt to invade the Capitol building and overthrow the peaceful transfer of power by election. She carried a backpack as she jumped through the glass broken out of the window at the side of the door leading into the House of Representatives chamber. The door was manned and fortified by those security officers that were there to protect the Capitol and the Congress. She was a mere 50 feet from the House Chamber while a number of elected House members were still in that room, not having been evacuated to safety yet, and depending on the protection of those who were authorized to protect the Capitol. Fifty feet! That is about the length of a moderate house. She carried a backpack that could have been a suicide bomb or may have concealed multiple weapons. This was not a case of an overzealous officer. She was part of a crowd that had already proven violent action against the defending police and were chanting “Hang Mike Pence”. It was the last measured act by the legal protectors of Congress to stop the threat they perceived to the legislature of the United States.

Under the law, an individual can defend himself/herself if there is perceived threat of grave bodily harm or death. The person initiating the attack is considered the antagonist and the perpetrator of the incident. If a person attacks me with the intent to possibly kill me, and I believe this to be so, I have the right to protect myself (and my family) from immediate danger, including the use of deadly force if necessary. That is all that the officer that shot Ashley Babbit was doing. He was protecting the members of the House of Representatives that were still in the chamber, as was his job to do. Had Babbit not died, she could, and probably would have been charged with criminal acts over her actions on that day.

This action by the DOJ to award her family $5 million in damages shows just how corrupt and twisted the current administration has become. President Trump pardoned those who were convicted of the crimes they committed on that Jan. 6, thereby rewarding those that showed more loyalty to him than to the country. Ashley Babbit is no martyr. When she broke into the Capitol and jumped through that window, she was a criminal, an insurrectionist and a terrorist. There should be no tears shed for her. The people of this country need to understand how truly and blatantly corrupt and authoritarian the current administration has become. Remember that the next time that you vote.

Luther Jones
Sylva