Woman dies after shooting in U.S. Capitol; D.C. National Guard activated after mob breaches building

[pat_k]

Source: WaPo


6:01 PM ET

A day that began with thousands of President Trump’s supporters in Washington for demonstrations turned violent as many in attendance saw Wednesday as a last stand for Trump because Congress was set to confirm that President-elect Joe Biden won the election.

Trump — who lost the popular and electoral college vote — continues to dispute the election results, without evidence, and has encouraged his supporters to attend the rallies. He took the stage about noon to roaring crowds, falsely claiming he had won the election.

Later at the U.S. Capitol, throngs of people pushed past police who were trying to block them from entering the building as lawmakers inside debated counting electoral college votes confirming Biden’s victory. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building, where one person was shot and later died.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/06/dc-protests-trump-rally-live-updates/

[Botany]

1. This is all on Trump, Fox News, the Free-Dumb caucus, OAN, News Max, Vlad Putin, Rush, Pat ...

Last edited Wed Jan 6, 2021, 10:19 PM - Edit history (1)

... Robertson, Pastor Jeffress, Hannity, and Ronald Reagan for getting rid of the fairness doctrine 2.5 generation ago.

How many times has Fox pushed the lie? "Well lots of people have questions about the election."

[SharonClark]

2. Well said.

[Botany]

8. When I was a little boy we lived in N.W. PA in a very middle class neighborhood and out next door ..

.... neighbor was the county D.A. and his brother was Ray Shafer*, the governor of the state.
It was a different time but you would never have met a better man. And he was a republican
too. These were just dumb fuck racists who Trump stoked up and fed into their inner stupidity.

* top of his class Allegheny college, WW II hero and commandeer, Yale law school, and a liked to
play with us kids.

[pat_k]

51. In the decades before 2000, there were many decent R's

For example, truly decent Republic Senators that come to mind below. I'm sure many many other decent house Republicans and decent Republican governors and state legislators could be named (as well as other truly decent Senators), but it seems to me that very, very few lasted for more than a term or two after 2000.

Edward Brooke (MA 1967-1979)
Jacob Javitz (NY 1957-1981)
Mark Hatfield (OR 1967-1997)
John Chafee (RI 1967-1999)
Lowell Weicker (CT 1971-1989)
Dan Evans (WA 1983-1989)
Jim Jeffords (VT 1989-2007)
Hank Brown (CO, 1991-1997)
Lincoln Chaffee (RI 1999-2007)
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (CO 1993-2005)
Olympia Snowe (ME 1995-2013)
even Arlen Spector (PA 1981-2011) squirrely as he was

[Botany]

54. You forgot

Margaret Chase Smith of Maine

Chuck Percy of Illinois

Dan Evans ... Gov of Washington

Bill Scranton. of PA

Everett Dickson of Illinois

Ike Eisenhower

Rockefeller

Barry Goldwater

Teddy Roosevelt

Abe Lincoln

Bob La Follete. Wisconsin

Not all perfect in every way but still good people

[pat_k]

56. And undoubtedly others.

The Republican party of 2021 is so depressing. I really do think a vast majority of the decent people have been -- or are being -- pushed out by an increasingly rapid right.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. yes indeed.

[hadEnuf]

6. +1000

[blueseas]

11. +100

[smb]

31. Blood On Wussolini's Tiny Hands! nt

[sdfernando]

3. Every one of those insurrectionist, every Capital Police person that let them pass,

every Congress person that stoked these flames, mother's pence and tangeranus are all complicit the MURDER of this person. Every single one of them!

[Jedi Guy]

17. Where did you get the idea that the Capitol Police let them pass?

There's a difference between being unable to prevent something and allowing it to happen. I haven't seen any reporting indicating that the Capitol Police just stood aside and let people in. If you have, please share.

[sdfernando]

18. There is video of capital police opening barricades and

Allowing these thugs to pass onto the grounds as they walk away.

[Jedi Guy]

19. Can you share a link, please? N/T

[sdfernando]

20. I will loom for it. It's here on DU.

[sdfernando]

24. Here it is

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017630107

[Jedi Guy]

38. Hard to tell where exactly that gate is located.

It certainly doesn't seem like they were letting them into the Capitol building itself when opening that gate. The grounds, perhaps, but not the building itself. Given what wound up happening, certainly not the best judgment call. But given the later clashes between the Capitol Police and the protesters, implying that the cops "stood aside" and let them run wild is, in my opinion, vastly overstating the matter.

[sdfernando]

50. I guess you see something different in that video than I do.

I see the cops opening the barricade and then casually walking away. They are not trying to stop anyone. I never said "stood aside" I said "let them pass" which is EXACTLY what they did....and I was speaking about the cops in the video, not all of the cops. Most did a great job with the tools they had...other not so much....like the one taking a selfie with the seditionist thug.

...and as another Congressperson pointed out...These was not a highly trained and equipped invasion force. How is it that a thuggish mob like this could get so far into the Capital, reach the Senate and House of Representatives chambers, and trash the Speaker of the Houses' office? Something ain't right here and heads are going to roll in that force...and rightly so.

[oro]

5. Who was she and who shot her?

I can't find any information.

[OnlinePoker]

9. From this Reddit post, she was a protester at what looked to be the entrance to the House

At the beginning, you can see her trying to climb through the glass and a single shot rings out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/krwd22/footage_of_woman_being_shot_inside_the_capitol/

on edit: deleting erroneous info.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. Meal Team 6 hoped to make a martyr by sending her in first?

[Sapient Donkey]

13. 16? I did notice she looked younger, but I didn't think she was that young

I hope that's not the case. I'm sad this happened even if these people are wrong for what they are doing. As usual I am going await information to come out, but unless she was a direct imminent threat to someone, then she should not have been shot.

[LiberalFighter]

14. The body on the cart looked like a older person.

[OnlinePoker]

16. I thought so too.

Last edited Thu Jan 7, 2021, 12:07 AM - Edit history (1)

As I said, it's unconfirmed.

[Sapient Donkey]

47. Her name was Ashli Babbitt, age 35.

Last edited Thu Jan 7, 2021, 02:51 PM - Edit history (1)

Looks like a crazy Qanon type. Still not much on the details as to what made the officer shoot her. At least I haven't seen anything.

[lapfog_1]

49. Good News

From what I've read about her... not only was she a MAGAt, she was Qanon... and she did not (apparently) have any children.

Therefore I nominate her for a special Darwin award... and may where 1 go they all go...

[pat_k]

52. Updated post. Here are the details.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/politics/ashli-babbitt-dead.html

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police confirmed on Thursday that an officer had shot and killed a woman inside the Capitol after the building was breached by President Trump’s supporters. He identified the woman as Ashli Babbitt, a former member of the Air Force.

Ms. Babbitt, 35, had been assigned to security units that police Air Force bases, according to military publications. A 2014 article said she had deployed seven times in eight years and achieved the rank of senior airman.

Chief Steven A. Sund of the Capitol Police said the attack on the Capitol “was unlike any I have experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement,” and he defended the actions of the officers as “heroic,” despite widespread criticism over how easily they were overrun by the mob of Trump supporters.

Chief Sund said an officer had shot Ms. Babbitt as the people who had overrun the Capitol “were forcing their way” to a part of the building where members of Congress were sheltering. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department, the local police in Washington, had said on Wednesday that the officer who shot Ms. Babbitt was a plainclothes Capitol Police officer.

In a pair of videos that appeared to capture the shooting, a woman who has a Make America Great Again flag draped around her can be seen stepping up to a ledge and beginning to move through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby, a long hallway with portraits of former speakers of the House. As soon as she starts to move through the window, a loud bang can be heard, and she falls backward to the ground. As people call for help, she begins to bleed around her mouth and neck.

Chief Sund said his agency had placed the officer who shot Ms. Babbitt on administrative leave and that the officer’s police powers had been suspended. He did not identify the officer.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. This is just an abomination, so sad

There need to be long jail terms over today's events, for many, fines and jail terms for all who violated our institutions.

We have tip-toed calling the events leading up to today and finally we're using the terms insurrection, sedition, coup, putsch, even treason.

Who would have guessed?

[mdbl]

12. agreed and the longest sentence should be to Trump

may he rot in jail

[jmowreader]

15. The precedent is Kelly Renee Gissendaner

Gissendaner had her husband whacked, but was nowhere in the area when the crime actually happened. But because her actions caused the murder, she was found guilty of murder and executed.

Donald Trump's actions and words caused this woman to die. He needs to be charged with and convicted of first degree murder.

We have never before had a president's term end with him up against the wall, but there's a first time for everything.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Precedent also of daily 9/11s worth of Covid DEATHS. . . . nt

[COL Mustard]

22. There Is Definitely Blood On Trump's Hands Tonight

Will there be enough courage among the Cabinet and the VP to remove this dangerous man from office?

[BlueNProud]

23. She was climbing in to what I believe was the area where the Speakers office is.

she was climbing up thru a shattered glass section to the right of the door. She was a terrorist and I couldn't care less that she's dead.

[Lucky Luciano]

25. Exactly. Fuck her and may they all be executed at gitmo.

[BlueNProud]

27. They couldn't get past the door, had she gotten in she would have just opened it and let them all in

not an innocent person here.

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. NYT said she slipped and fell after a bang, but that she was wrapped in her own flag and

fell onto a stairwell.

[BlueNProud]

28. She didn't fall into a stairwell. She just fell to the ground 5 feet away from stairwell

I think she was shot.

[Major Nikon]

29. CNN reported the DC police told them she was shot in the chest

I'm sure there's lots more to the story which will come out in the next day or so and a clearer picture will emerge as far as what happened.

[Action_Patrol]

30. She was shot.

There’s multiple angle videos

[FailureToCommunicate]

36. I've seen the video now. She was a determined Trumper breaking in, but WHY,

why do police have to always shoot to kill?

They could just have easily tazered her or used rubber bullets, or not shot her in the chest, or not shot her at all.

[Action_Patrol]

41. They don't carry tasers. Or rubber bullets

When you break into the Capitol in session on one of the most high profile events our country has you get whatever stupid prize you were aiming for.

The speakers lobby was barricaded. She broke a window and climbed through. What outcome did anyone expect?

[KatyMan]

32. So....

She wasn't 16. She was a 14 year military vet turned domestic terrorist

[FailureToCommunicate]

37. Yup. Seems like it.

[IsItJustMe]

33. If I broke into someone else's house (criminal trespassing) with malicious intent,

I would very much be surprised if someone didn't shoot me. Actions have consequences.

[AnnieBW]

34. An Air Force Veteran

With a high-level security clearance. She knew what she was doing was illegal. The cops were within their rights to shoot. No sympathy.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/06/protester-killed-in-capitol-was-air-force-vet-from-california/?sr_share=facebook&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow&fbclid=IwAR3HrBP_pUkXuYKi4_77rUaIlJg8fyF42WibV3I1SdXVJJmOIlYWwFpss9U

[Gore1FL]

40. 14 years in the service and then turns traitor and dies as a result.

The brainwashing is so weirdly effective.

[Progressive Jones]

43. The police who were present were behind her in the 2 videos I saw.

There were people behind her. I doubt the police had a good shot at her.


I'm going out on a limb here and saying she may have been hit by a round from a gun on her person that discharged
as she was trying to climb through that window.

[RandiFan1290]

48. They were coming up the stairs to rescue the officers

that were trying to stop the terrorists from breaking through.

She was shot by the officers at the end of the hall once she breached the secured area.

Very clear to see in the videos.

[IronLionZion]

45. Aim High nt

[turbinetree]

35. This not only is on Trump "who Has Blood On His Hands" but also the enablers..............

[Mr. Ected]

39. GOP's American Benghazi

They've got a lot of fessin' up to do.

[JeaneRaye]

42. Play with Fire...

All-day long, after seeing this woman being rolled out from the Capitol on a stretcher, I just kept hoping that this was one of the anarchists and not a staffer at the Capitol. Tonight, I read where she was one of the Trump anarchists that stormed the Capitol today. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Glad it wasn't an innocent staffer.

[C Moon]

44. I heard four people died.

[AngryOldDem]

53. Three died from medical emergencies.

[C Moon]

55. Thanks AOD!

[NBachers]

46. I'm in favor of the police shooting any terrorist who steps across the threshold into the Capitol

or climbs through a broken window.