The officer who shot MAGA supporter Ashli Babbit in January during the Capitol Building insurrection has been formally cleared of wrongdoing.
The order exonerating the unnamed officer was issued following an internal investigation. According to a memo from the commander of the Capitol Police's Office of Personal Responsibility, there will be no more probe and no further action will be initiated in this matter.
Netizens have expressed shock and termed the judgment unjust.
Ashli Babbit was shot by an officer in plain clothes in the Rotunda on January 6. The officer's name has not been made public. Babbit's family had sued the Capitol police officer for $10M, saying that the office did not give any verbal command or warning before pulling the trigger.
Babbit's family has said that the video showed the officer firing at her without any warning and said the Capitol Police was responsible for her death.
Unjust Judgment
The family also specified that Babbit was one of the thousands of MAGA supporters, but was the only one killed by the Capitol police. Following the ruling, netizens have asked the authorities to reveal the name of the officer. They have demanded that the officer should be tried in a court of law. A netizen called the probe "A bullshit whitewash con job," and said that Babbit's killer should be punished.
"The internal probe exonerating the Capitol Police that murdered Ashli Babbitt in cold blood without warning violating police protocol = unjust judgement! She didn't break the law for protesting unarmed in a public building. Demand for a just trial in court to be decided by a jury," commented another netizen.
Netizens also compared the officer to Derek Chauvin and questioned how the officer was different from Cahuvin. Some of the netizens claimed that the Democrats killed Babbit. "Want to know the killer of Ashli Babbitt? It's the democrats, for being out of control tyrants that act like Nazis at every chance have yet to be stopped. They caused the need of people like Ashli to rebel, and then shot her for not saying "heil Biden" All of them are murderers," stated a Twitterati.
Netizens Supporting Officer
Terry Roberts, Babbit's attorney, reiterated that there is no need for debate as it is clear that there was no warning. He called officer's action as an ambush.
However, the officer's lawyer Mark Schamel said that his client was heard screaming 'Stay back! Don't come here," before pulling the trigger. He called the officer's action "an appropriate one considering the situation."
A section of netizens supported the officer and told that he was merely doing his duty. "Ashley Babbit was shot while committing a crime, and the police officer has been exonerated...because the cop was doing his freaking job," said a Twitter user. "Who shot Ashley Babbitt you ask? A hero. A hero shot the terrorist named Ashley Babbit,"commented another netizen. Some claimed that Donald Trump killed Ashley Babbit.
As people are still debating the killings of George Floyd and Ashli Babbit, a netizen commented: "Do you think Ashley Babbit and George Floyd are smoking a blunt in heaven together right now?"
