Ashli Babbitt Getting Military Funeral Honors Sparks Anger

The decision to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran fatally shot during the January 6 Capitol riot, has sparked a wave of backlash.

Babbitt was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer while trying to climb through a barricaded door to enter the Speaker’s Lobby on January 6. An investigation found that the officer’s shooting was justified.

Following her death, Babbitt was denied military honors under the Biden administration. But Matthew Lohmeier, under secretary of the Air Force, said in an letter to Babbitt’s family that he was “persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect” after reviewing new information about her death, according to conservative legal group Judicial Watch.

The decision has sparked backlash online.

Newsweek has contacted the Department of the Air Force for comment via online form.

Why It Matters

The decision underscores a broader shift under President Donald Trump, who has already issued pardons to some January 6 defendants. Extending military honors to Babbitt goes a step further, critics argue, by legitimizing the actions of the rioters and blurring the line between service to the country and an assault on democratic institutions.

What To Know

The decision to grant Babbitt military funeral honors sparked outrage across social media, with veterans, lawmakers and activists condemning the move.

Podcaster Ryan Shead wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “As an Airman myself, allow me to say this is complete bulls**t. This reversal deeply disrespects every honorable soldier who’s had our Stars and Stripes draped over their casket as Taps play in the background.”

“This is disgusting,” former congressman Adam Kinzinger wrote on X.

Writer and LGBTQ activist Charlotte Clymer wrote on X: “Ashli Babbitt was a grown ass adult who made a series of conscious, ill-advised decisions to engage in treasonous behavior, and she got exactly what she deserved. She was a traitor. She was a threat to national security. There is no nuance needed here.”

But some celebrated the decision.

“I was very excited to see Ashli Babbitt will be getting full…honors. I wish she could see the world today and how much it changed in less than 5 years. President Trump is back in charge and so much that she wanted has come true. I wonder what she’d say if she was alive today,” California Republican Representative Jack Kimble wrote on X.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton also celebrated the decision, saying the organization was “proud to have done its part” in bringing Babbitt’s family “a measure of justice and accountability.”

Judicial Watch has for years advocated for Babbitt to be granted full military funeral honors, portraying her as the victim of government misconduct.

Those honors traditionally consist of the playing of Taps, a flag presentation, and a detail of uniformed service members taking part in the ceremony.

Babbitt, who was draped in a Trump flag like a cape when she was fatally shot during the January 6 assault on the Capitol, had frequently shared right-wing conspiracy theories online. Among them was the baseless “pizzagate” claim, which alleged that a Washington, D.C., pizza shop was hiding a child-trafficking ring tied to Democratic officials—a hoax that once led an armed man to storm the restaurant.

During her military career, Babbitt served in the Air Force with deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

Her family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government. After Donald Trump returned to the White House, his administration agreed to resolve the case by paying the family nearly $5 million.

That decision drew sharp criticism from Thomas Manger, the former chief of the Capitol Police.

“I am extremely disappointed and disagree with this settlement,” he said in May. “This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide, especially to those with a protective mission like ours.”

The settlement came alongside a broader shift in Trump’s approach to January 6 prosecutions. His administration pardoned roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted in connection with the riot. It also dismissed dozens of federal prosecutors who had handled those cases, replacing them with attorneys who had previously defended rioters—one of whom had likened the prosecutions to the Holocaust. The Justice Department even hired Jared Wise, a former FBI agent who joined the mob on January 6 and was accused of urging rioters to kill police officers. A Justice Department prosecution of Wise was under way when Trump took office and was one of many cases that were dismissed before a verdict.

Trump himself has consistently referred to the rioters as “patriots” and “political prisoners,” recasting the attack on the Capitol as a legitimate protest rather than an effort to overturn the 2020 election.

What People Are Saying

A spokesperson for the Department of the Air Force told Politico: “After reviewing the circumstances of SrA Babbitt’s death, the Air Force has offered Military Funeral Honors to SrA Babbitt’s family.”

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said: “Ashli Babbitt’s family is grateful to President Trump, Secretary Hegseth and Under Secretary Lohmeier for reversing the Biden Defense Department’s cruel decision to deny Ashli funeral honors as a distinguished veteran of the Air Force.

“Judicial Watch’s team spent years investigating, litigating, and exposing the truth about Ashli’s homicide. Judicial Watch is proud to have done its part in bringing her family a measure of justice and accountability for Ashli’s outrageous killing. And our battle for justice will continue.”

What Happens Next

It has been reported that Babbitt was cremated in 2021. It is unclear what the decision to grant her military funeral honors will mean in practical terms.