{"id":2479873,"date":"2025-08-28T10:11:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vindication-for-jan-6-fatality-ashli-babbitt-full-military-funeral-honors\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T10:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:13:10","slug":"vindication-for-jan-6-fatality-ashli-babbitt-full-military-funeral-honors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vindication-for-jan-6-fatality-ashli-babbitt-full-military-funeral-honors\/","title":{"rendered":"Vindication for Jan. 6 fatality Ashli Babbitt: Full military funeral honors"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvindication-for-jan-6-fatality-ashli-babbitt-full-military-funeral-honors%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2479873&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the culmination of a four-year effort to grant full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/measure-to-ban-dishonorable-discharges-of-unvaccinated-military-members-introduced-by-gop-senators\/\" title=\"Measure to Ban Dishonorable Discharges of Unvaccinated Military Members Introduced by GOP Senators\">military funeral honors<\/a> to Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer while trying to enter the House chamber during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Initially denied by Air Force leadership, the Defence Department, after reviewing new data, reversed the decision and offered military funeral honors to Babbitt, acknowledging that the previous denial was incorrect.<\/p>\n<p>Babbitt&#8217;s family,with support from the legal watchdog group Judicial Watch,worked to change the narrative surrounding her death,which had been largely overshadowed by political and media framing of the events as a violent insurrection. The article notes that the officer who shot Babbitt, Lt.Michael Byrd, was never charged and was later promoted despite questions about his training.<\/p>\n<p>The piece highlights Babbitt&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/repulsive-illinois-nevertrumper-adam-kinzinger-continues-to-attack-president-trump-while-claiming-his-military-service-allows-him-to-act-as-insubordinate\/\" title=\"Repulsive Illinois #NeverTrumper Adam Kinzinger Continues to Attack ... While Claiming His Military Service Allows Him To Act as Insubordinate\">military service<\/a>, including her time as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/heroic-sergeant-who-tackled-boston-marathon-bomber-retires-gives-advice-to-young-officers\/\" title=\"Heroic Sergeant Who Tackled Boston Marathon Bomber Retires, Gives Advice To Young ...s\">military police officer<\/a> in the Middle east and her role in presidential security, emphasizing her status as a distinguished veteran. The article also mentions that Judicial Watch secured a nearly $5 million wrongful death settlement for her family. it cites expressions of gratitude from Babbitt&#8217;s family and Judicial Watch for the reversal of the Defense Department&#8217;s original decision, framing it as a measure of justice and accountability. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Vindication for Jan. 6 fatality Ashli Babbitt: Full military funeral honors<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1941241\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A four-year campaign to clear Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, shot dead by a U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/capitol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Capitol<\/a> Police officer as she attempted to access the House floor on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/january-6\">Jan. 6, 2021<\/a>, has ended successfully with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/defense-department\/\">Defense Department<\/a> agreeing to grant her full military funeral honors.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter to Babbitt&rsquo;s mother and husband, Undersecretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier wrote, &ldquo;On behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force, I write to extend the offer for Military Funeral Honors for SrA Ashli Babbitt. I understand that the family&rsquo;s initial request was denied by Air Force leadership in a letter dated February 9, 2021. However, after reviewing the circumstances of Ashli&rsquo;s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3784645\/zohran-mamdani-challenged-attend-play-oct-7-attack-at-alma-mater\/\">Mamdani challenged to attend play about Oct. 7 at alma mater<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3784214\/virginia-races-tighten-winsome-earle-sears-closes-gap-5-points\/\">Virginia races tighten, Earle-Sears closes gap to 5 points<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3782924\/democrats-morph-party-elite-women-pollster\/\">Democrats morph into party of elite women: Pollster<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>He added in a handwritten note, &ldquo;Please let me know what I can do to be of service, Matt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Aug. 15 letter capped a long effort by Babbitt&rsquo;s family and Washington legal watchdog Judicial Watch to reverse the narrative that the retired airman helped lead a violent Capitol riot to stop the certification of Joe Biden&rsquo;s election defeat of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" title=\"Hegseth Babbitt Letter 2025 5\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/907586089\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-vsNg1q00XsgAdofIvmZf\" tabindex=\"0\" data-auto-height=\"true\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7727272727272727\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; display: block;\"> <a title=\"View Hegseth Babbitt Letter 2025 5 on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/907586089\/Hegseth-Babbitt-Letter-2025-5#from_embed\" style=\"color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;\">  Hegseth Babbitt Letter 2025 5 <\/a> by <a title=\"View web-producers's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/701058553\/web-producers#from_embed\" style=\"color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;\"> web-producers <\/a> <\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 6, 2021, she was at the front of a group of protesters pressing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2835513\/fbi-charged-with-jan-6-cover-up-in-ashli-babbitt-shooting-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enter the Speaker&rsquo;s Lobby<\/a>. As Babbitt, 35, was pushed through a window in the doorway to the chamber, Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot and killed the unarmed Babbitt.<\/p>\n<p>Byrd was never charged, though an investigation questioned his training. He was later promoted.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&lsquo;She&rsquo;s dead, she&rsquo;s dead&rsquo;: Jan. 6 video has new angle on Ashli Babbitt shooting <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/J6TrueTimeline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@J6TrueTimeline<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N34995qbzH\">https:\/\/t.co\/N34995qbzH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c7WMbcEPx4\">pic.twitter.com\/c7WMbcEPx4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecretsBedard\/status\/1742263592047501784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>Air Force Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly refused to grant Babbitt military funeral honors. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have determined that military funeral honors would bring discredit upon the Air Force,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>With the help of the liberal media, Babbitt&rsquo;s case was mostly erased from the reporting on the protests that day. The unrest prompted Democrats to impeach Trump for a second time because they said he encouraged the &ldquo;insurrection&rdquo; by claiming that his defeat to Biden was the result of a &ldquo;stolen&rdquo; election. Trump returned to the presidency in 2024, soundly defeating Biden&rsquo;s vice president.<\/p>\n<p>Babbitt&rsquo;s case was revived when Trump entered the Oval Office and granted clemency to the hundreds charged and convicted in the riots. Judicial Watch also won a $4.975 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3335232\/justice-signals-settlement-30m-ashli-babbitt-wrongful-death-suit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrongful death suit<\/a> against the government.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: The U.S. Air Force will <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >finally provide full military funeral honors<\/a> to Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021 (1\/3). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5F9eWj2iZc\">https:\/\/t.co\/5F9eWj2iZc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Judicial Watch &#9878;&#65039; (@JudicialWatch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JudicialWatch\/status\/1960798106192380339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ashli Babbitt&rsquo;s family is grateful to President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and Undersecretary Lohmeier for reversing the Biden Defense Department&rsquo;s cruel decision to deny Ashli funeral honors as a distinguished veteran of the Air Force,&rdquo; Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Judicial Watch&rsquo;s team spent years investigating, litigating, and exposing the truth about Ashli&rsquo;s homicide. Judicial Watch is proud to have done its part in bringing her family a measure of justice and accountability for Ashli&rsquo;s outrageous killing. And our battle for justice will continue,&rdquo; Fitton added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3782487\/trump-doj-dismiss-jan-6-proud-boys-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>TRUMP DOJ SEEKS TO DISMISS JAN. 6 LAWSUIT FROM PROUD BOYS LEADERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Babbitt served in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve. She graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in August 2004 and was a senior airman until June 2009, when she joined the Air National Guard.<\/p>\n<p>She was a military police officer in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and conducted presidential security for two years.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashli Babbitt granted full military funeral honors after 4 years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2647,"featured_media":2479874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25122764625436.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[37255,46583,32087,62162,45457],"class_list":["post-2479873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ashli-babbitt","tag-capitol-attack","tag-jan-6","tag-military-funeral","tag-vindication"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25122764625436.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2479873"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2479877,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479873\/revisions\/2479877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2479874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2479873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2479873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2479873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}