Government watchdog group Judicial Watch announced on Thursday that, following a hearing on Aug. 6, Judge Ana C. Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to answer the $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd.
The court gave the government 30 days, until Sept. 6, to answer the complaint. The order also states that Judicial Watch can file a reply brief by Aug. 23 in its petition to have the case returned to Babbitt’s home of San Diego where it was originally filed.
“Ashli Babbitt’s family is thrilled the $30 million wrongful death lawsuit for her outrageous killing is moving full speed ahead,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
The Justice Department must respond to the lawsuit’s claims for wrongful death, assault and battery, negligence and a clam for “survival action” under federal law. (As a result of the court’s order, the lawsuit will proceed on these key counts, as the court considers the Biden administration’s request to dismiss certain other claims.)
Babbitt, 35, owned and operated a successful pool business with her husband Aaron. Ashli traveled alone from San Diego to Washington, DC, to attend the Women for America First (aka Save America) rally on J6 at the Ellipse.
The Judicial Watch complaint recounts:
The shooting occurred at the east entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby. After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd, who is a United States Capitol Police commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.The lawsuit points out that, based on prior incidents involving Lt. Byrd, the Capitol Police, Capitol Police Board, and ultimately Congress, as Lt. Byrd’s employer, “knew or should have known that Lt. Byrd was prone to behave in a dangerous or otherwise incompetent manner.”
The next hearing is set for Sept. 20.
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