NBC News: “In the chaotic minutes before he shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Lt. Michael Byrd focused his attention on the glass doors leading into the lobby of the U.S. House of Representatives chamber. About 60 to 80 House members and staffers were holed up inside, and it was Byrd’s job to protect them. As rioters rampaged through the Capitol, Byrd and a few other officers from the Capitol Police set up a wall of furniture outside the doors. ‘Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were,’ Byrd said in an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, speaking publicly for the first time since the riot. ‘There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out.’ ‘If they get through that door, they’re into the House chamber and upon the members of Congress,’ added Byrd, who granted NBC News permission to use his name after authorities had declined to release it.”

“Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the Capitol Police, took a defensive posture with his gun drawn as rioters smashed the glass doors. He said he yelled repeatedly for them to get back. But the mob kept pressing forward, and then a lone rioter tried to climb through one of the doors. What happened next was captured on video: Byrd fired one shot, striking Babbitt in the shoulder. For Byrd, who is Black, the incident turned his life upside down. He has been in hiding for months after receiving a flood of death threats and racist attacks that started when his name leaked onto right-wing websites. But in his interview with Holt, Byrd said he has no doubt that he made the right decision in light of the circumstances. ‘I know that day I saved countless lives,’ Byrd said. ‘I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job.'”