Washington, DC – The woman shot and killed during the assault on the United States Capitol Wednesday by a pro-Trump mob has been revealed to be Ashli Babbitt, 35, from California.
Babbitt was a Trump supporter and apparent QAnon believer, according to her social media accounts. She tweeted Tuesday that, "Nothing will stop us....they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours....dark to light!"
Ashli Babbitt served 14 years in the Air Force, her former husband told KUSI News. A 2014 news release from the 113th Wing of the D.C. Air National Guard also confirmed Babbitt's service. Babbitt, who was then Ashli McEntee, served in the Air Force on active duty and in the Guard. In 2014, she had already deployed eight times, six on active duty and twice with the Guard, where she was described as being in a "mentoring position to the younger and newer airmen."
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Babbitt owned a swimming pool cleaning company, according to her Facebook page, and described herself as a Libertarian on Twitter.
Congress was certifying President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory when a mob of pro-Trump supporters clashed with police and forced their way into the Capitol complex, forcing widespread lockdowns and evacuations. Babbitt was among them.
On Wednesday morning, hours before the assault on the Capitol, Babbitt retweeted a post calling for Vice President Mike Pence to resign and be charged with treason for his plans to certify the 2020 election results.
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Much of Babbitt's social media activity in recent days centered on the "stop the steal" campaign promoted by President Donald Trump and other right-wing figures contesting the results of the 2020 election. Some of them were posts from the president himself.
She also shared multiple posts from other protesters saying they were headed to D.C. from across the United States because the president asked them to. Some of the posts she shared from other accounts promoted conspiracy theories, such as COVID-19 pandemic denial, or used language such as "coup" to refer to Wednesday's planned protests.
Babbitt had posted political rants on social media for years.
D.C. police confirmed the shooting death late Wednesday but did not immediately identify Babbitt. Police said at least three other people died of separate medical emergencies at the Capitol.
D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Contee told reporters that Babbitt was shot by a police officer as plainclothes cops confronted the mob inside the capitol, and later died in a hospital. The shooting is under investigation.
A video posted on Twitter earlier Wednesday shows the shooting of a woman attempting to climb through a window above a locked door. A gun is fired by a US Capitol Police officer, and the woman fell to the floor.
"Where is she hit?" people can be heard yelling in the video, as a man in a suit crouched down next to her.
Another video shows police surrounding the woman and attempting to administer aid, yelling at the crowd to back up so EMS could help.
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