The U.S. Air Force has granted full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
In an Aug. 15 letter to the Babbitt family, Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier said the request—previously denied under the Biden administration—was being reversed, writing that he was “persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
“[A]fter reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect,” Lohmeier said. “Additionally, I would like to invite you and your family to meet me at the Pentagon to personally offer my condolences.”
A spokesperson for the Department of the Air Force confirmed the letter’s authenticity when CNN asked for comment. “After reviewing the circumstances of [Senior Airman] Babbitt’s death, the Air Force has offered Military Funeral Honors to [Senior Airman] Babbitt’s family,” the spokesperson said.
Details of Ashli Babbitt’s upcoming service remain unclear, though full military honors generally include a uniformed detail, the playing of Taps, and the folding and presentation of a U.S. flag.
Babbitt was fatally shot in the neck by then-U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd as she tried to climb through a broken window inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Byrd gave no verbal warning before firing, even as additional officers in riot gear stood just behind Babbitt and were about to secure the area.
Byrd’s record included past disciplinary issues, among them a 2004 incident in which he discharged his weapon at a stolen car in a residential neighborhood, a 2005 “conduct unbecoming” complaint with racial overtones tied to a football game, and a failed background check to purchase a shotgun for personal use following the Babbitt shooting. He was promoted during the Biden administration to captain nonetheless.
