WASHINGTON, May 20. /TASS/. The US administration intends to pay nearly $5 million to the family of US Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, who was killed during the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, The Washington Post wrote, citing sources.
"President Donald Trump’s administration is set to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt to settle a lawsuit brought by the estate of the Trump supporter who was fatally shot by police when she tried to storm the House Speaker’s Lobby during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to two people familiar with the matter," the newspaper says.
The outlet reports that Babbitt's family filed a lawsuit in early 2024, demanding $30 million. According to the newspaper's sources, the Justice Department agreed to pay her relatives just under $5 million, with approximately one-third of the sum needed to cover attorneys' fees.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to block the certification of the November 2020 presidential election results, which had been won by Democrat Joe Biden. During the unrest inside the building, police fatally shot Ashli Babbitt. Several others also died during the events.
In July 2021, Trump stated that the Capitol Police should not have used firearms during the protests and called Babbitt's death unjustified. In August of that year, the US Capitol Police, following an internal investigation, cleared the officer whose gunfire killed Babbitt.