Retiring Capitol police chief tears into Ashli Babbitt settlement
The retiring chief of the U.S. Capitol Police has criticized a reported plan to pay Ashli Babbitt's family $30 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Thomas Manger, who came out of retirement in 2021 to deal with the riots and is set to retire again in May, said he was "extremely disappointed" with the deal.
Why It Matters
According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration
has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Babbitt to settle a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit brought by Babbitt's estate.
Babbitt was an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter who was
fatally shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer on January 6, 2021. She was shot while attempting to enter the House Speaker's Lobby during the riot at the U.S. Capitol along with thousands of other Trump supporters who rioted at the Capitol to try to block
Congress from certifying
Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit against the U.S. government was filed last year, with Babbitt's estate alleging the office who shot her failed to deescalate the situation. A 2021 investigation by the Justice Department found no evidence that federal laws were broken.
According to
The Washington Post, the settlement between the U.S.
Department of Justice and Babbitt's estate does not include an admission of wrongdoing.
What To Know
In a public statement Monday, Manger said: "I am extremely disappointed and disagree with this settlement."
"This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide, especially to those with a protective mission like ours," he added.
What People Are Saying
Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer and frequent Trump critic, wrote on X, formerly Twitter
: "Absolutely disgraceful. This will be an historical black stain - among so many others - on this Administration & those senior officials in Justice Department forever."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a news conference on Monday: "This settlement is just an extension of what they've previously done, which is to pardon violent felons who violently attacked the Capitol on January 6, including police officers."
Trump in March told conservative outlet
Newsmax that he was "a big fan of Ashli Babbitt" and said he would look into the lawsuit.
He added: "And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it's a disgrace."
The Justice Department wrote in a statement at the time of the investigation: "The investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber."
