Family identifies woman fatally shot by Capitol Police

Family members identified the person fatally shot by Capitol Police in the midst of the violent riot on Wednesday as a 35-year-old California woman, Ashli Babbitt.

Babbitt’s extended family told the San Diego Union-Tribune that they are basing the identification on bystander footage posted online, but added that no authorities had contacted them in the hours following the siege.

“No one has contacted us,” one family member told the newspaper. “No official person has gotten back to us, despite the many phone calls.”

Babbitt’s ex-husband, Timothy McEntee, told the Union-Tribune the Air Force veteran and CEO of a pool supplies company was “a wonderful woman with a big heart and a strong mind.” 

“I feel absolutely terrible and sick to my stomach about it,” McEntee added in another interview with The Washington Post. “She was never afraid to speak her mind and in a way [going to the rally] was her way of speaking her mind.”

Videos and other posts on Babbitt’s social media accessed by the Post indicated that she was a follower of the “QAnon” conspiracy theory, which for years has alleged that President Trump is running a secret crusade against a global cabal of pedophiles. Followers of the conspiracy theory are some of the president’s strongest supporters.

CBS News reported Babbitt was shot by a plain clothes police officer. Three other people also died Wednesday at the Capitol due to medical emergencies, according to police. None of the deceased’s names have been officially released.

Rioters stormed Capitol after remarks by Trump on Wednesday forcing lawmakers, reporters and others to flee for safety in secure areas as a joint session of Congress met to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Confrontations between the mob and Capitol Police included a standoff with armed officers near the entrance to the House of Representatives’ chamber.