Ashli Babbitt was one of the hundreds of Trump supporters in the mob that ransacked the Capitol building Wednesday -- but she was among a handful that we know who didn't make it home alive that night.
Babbitt’s death was caught on video which has now been well-circulated on social media. The investigation into the incident is ongoing and it is unclear exactly what happened inside the Capitol. But it has become relatively clear what led Babbitt there.
Related
Babbitt’s social media presence suggests that she was a QAnon conspiracy theorist. Her political rants in social media videos echo the extremist views of the group. The day before her death she tweeted about “the storm,” a term QAnon conspirators have used to describe their ridding the world of non-believers. And many of the individuals she followed on Twitter were prominent voices in the QAnon arena.
And Babbitt is far from the only veteran to find their way to this community -- or purposefully be drawn in by it.
The QAnon conspiracy is attractive to many military veterans, Connecting Vets’ Jack Murphy reported just months ago. QAnon offers a sense of belonging and camaraderie that veterans often lose when they leave the military. Many of Babbitt’s social media followers have rallied behind her death, describing it as one of martyrdom and calling her a decorated veteran. Babbitt never received any notable awards or recognitions, according to Air Force officials. She left the Air Force as an E-4 after more than a decade of service.
QAnon also casts its adherents as heroes fighting satanic villains, which is a world view that most veterans already relate to. But beyond the veterans it organically attracts just with the promise of camaraderie and heroism, QAnon and other groups which traffic in disinformation also specifically target veterans.
Veterans are often influential and trusted in their communities, making them ideal targets for those with disinformation agendas. Army veteran and disinformation expert Kristofer Goldsmith even published a two-year study with Vietnam Veterans of America on the topic and briefed Congress regarding the threat veterans face from foreign and domestic actors seeking to spread disinformation.
Republicans in Congress did not listen, Goldsmith tweeted today. And as a result, Babbitt’s “death is on their hands.”
Goldsmith explained on Twitter that VVA’s study revealed veterans are “radicalized by foreign and domestic actors spreading viral, bogus, and hateful content” and Republicans in Congress responded to VVA’s findings with complaints about how Facebook and Twitter “were mean to conservatives.” The Trump administration as a whole likewise ignored VVA’s warnings.
And, again, Babbitt is far from the only veteran affected.
“This QAnon shit has radicalized a ton of veterans, and been embraced, promoted, and perpetuated by veterans who wield massive online influence,” Goldsmith continued, such as those figures Babbitt followed on social media.
“Unlike actual soldiers or revolutionaries who die fighting for something, Babbitt lost her life for a fictional conspiracy,” Murphy wrote. “Her mind had been captured by a participatory live-action roleplaying game called QAnon. There are many others like her.”
Connecting Vets’ Phil Briggs will release an episode of “Eye on Veterans” next week featuring Goldsmith discussing how foreign and domestic actors “hijack our heroes” and how veterans become mechanisms for violence on their behalf.