GRAPHIC: Here’s the moment when Ashli Babbitt was shot as she tried to breach the House chamber

by The Right Scoop

This is graphic so be forewarned.

It’s the moment when Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force Veteran, was fatally shot as she tried to breach the House chamber:

As you can see in the video, right before a law enforcement officer opened fire, Babbitt was clearly elevated and was breaching the House chamber. Because of her elevated position, I think we can assume that she was the closest to making it in, which is why she was shot and the others weren’t.

I know many are suggesting this was an unjustified shooting, pointing out she was unarmed. While the shooting was certainly tragic, let me offer an unpopular opinion.

The officer was defending the House chamber from a mob on the other side of the door. At that moment that hallway was full of people trying to breach the House and there was no one there to stop them. I know we see officers come up the stairs behind the protesters in the video, but it looks like they came up at the moment or just after she’d been shot.

Also, while Babbitt may have been unarmed, there was no way for the officer to know that. He was on the other side of the door looking through broken glass at this mob trying to breach the House.

There were also people in the House chamber and I’m sure the officers were trying to protect them. You can see someone walking around in the background of the video of the House chamber before the officer opens fire. There were also reports and photos circulating of House members hiding in the chamber as this was underway. Also there appears to have been someone taking pictures in there, because we posted these two photos yesterday from inside the House:

 
There’s also witness testimony saying the officers warned protesters multiple times to stop, and the girl did not comply:

Here’s what the witness said in the interview:

“We had stormed into the chambers inside and there was a young lady who rushed to the windows. A number of police and secret service were saying get back, get down, get out of the way. She didn’t heed the call, and as we kinda raced up to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck and she fell back on me…”

All I’m suggesting to you is not to rush to judgement and assume the officer was wrong. It looks to me like the officer acted reasonably in a very unpredictable and highly tense situation. Certainly there should be an investigation and I’d love to have more information on who was in the House chambers. But from where I’m standing, this looks justified.


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