The Capitol Police’s Office of Personal Responsibility exonerated the unnamed officer who shot domestic terrorist Ashli Babbitt during the January 6th insurrection attempt at the Capitol, saying no further action should be taken in the incident, NBC News reports.
The Capitol Police report comes after the Department of Justice ruled that there was no evidence to support charging the officer, saying there was ample evidence that he was acting “in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber.”
The officer shot Babbitt as she attempted to climb through the broken window of a barricade set of doors that lead into the Speaker’s Lobby outside the House chamber. The officer had shouted warnings to the crowd to stay back as member of Congress exited the doors and went down the hall behind him.
“Officials examined video footage posted on social media, statements from the officer involved and other officers and witnesses to the events, physical evidence from the scene of the shooting, and the results of an autopsy,” and “based on that investigation, officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution,” the statement added.
Right-wing zealots have attempted to characterize Babbitt, 35 and an Air Force veteran, as a martyr who was shot unjustly, but video of the scene proves Babbitt was part of a criminal rampage through the Capitol and that she ignored warnings of the officer to stop.