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2h ago

Air Force Offers Military Funeral Honors to Ashli Babbitt After 2021 Denial

The move follows an Aug. 15 letter from the Air Force under secretary reversing a prior determination.

A poster of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by Capitol Police during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, hangs on a fence on the first anniversary of the event outside the Capitol, in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2022.
This driver's license photo from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), provided to AP by the Calvert County Sheriff's Office, shows Ashli Babbitt.
Ashli Babbitt.

Overview

  • A Department of the Air Force spokesperson confirmed the offer following a new review of the circumstances of the Air Force veteran’s death, though the specific honors to be provided were not detailed.
  • In February 2021, then–Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly denied the family’s request, citing a statute allowing the service to withhold honors if the circumstances of death would bring discredit upon the Air Force.
  • Under Secretary Matthew L. Lohmeier told Babbitt’s family he was persuaded the earlier decision was incorrect and extended an invitation to meet at the Pentagon.
  • Earlier this year, the federal government agreed to pay nearly $5 million to settle the family’s wrongful-death lawsuit tied to the Jan. 6 shooting.
  • The reversal drew praise from supporters and criticism from opponents, coming as the Trump administration has pardoned many Jan. 6 defendants, while the officer who shot Babbitt was previously cleared of criminal wrongdoing.