Posted on January 7, 2021

Woman Fatally Shot as Pro-Trump Mob Stormed the Capitol Identified as Air Force Veteran

Jaclyn Peiser and Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, January 7, 2021

When a group of pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol and smashed windows on Wednesday, a woman jumped onto a pane and started through.

Seconds later, a gunshot rang out and the woman, who had a Trump flag tied around her waist, tipped back and fell onto the marble floor as blood spilled from her shoulder.

“They shot a girl!” someone yelled as the crowd ran out of the southeast entrance.

She died later that day, police said. She was one of four fatalities from the violent rioting that wreaked havoc through the halls of Congress on Wednesday, halting the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Three others died of unspecified medical emergencies during the chaos.

The woman was 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt, a California native and Air Force veteran, her former husband told The Washington Post. Before her death in the Capitol, she had used her social media to express fervent support for President Trump and echo many of the president’s conspiracy theories and false claims of mass voter fraud.

Police have not yet confirmed Babbitt’s identity or confirmed details about how she was shot. The woman was shot by U.S. Capitol Police, D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III told reporters on Wednesday.

Babbitt, a native of San Diego, served in Afghanistan and Iraq in the Air Force before other deployments with the National Guard to Kuwait and Qatar, ex-husband Timothy McEntee told The Post. McEntee and Babbitt met in the Air Force and were married for 14 years, before splitting in May 2019.

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McEntee said Babbitt had remarried and owned a pool supply company with her husband, Aaron Babbitt.

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