Ashli Babbitt (Twitter)
A federal judge wants attorneys representing Ashli Babbitt and the U.S. government to speed up the process so it can head to trial by December of next year “at the latest.”
A U.S. Capitol police officer shot and killed the unarmed Babbitt, as she and others forced their way to a hallway outside the “Speaker’s Lobby,” leading to the House of Representatives chamber as Congress was certifying the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021. In January, Babbitt’s husband filed a wrongful death complaint for $30 million in Southern District of California. It has since been moved to the D.C. District.
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In a joint meet and confer statement filed jointly by the plaintiff and defense Friday, the adversaries wrote they “have not been able to narrow any of the factual or legal issues.” They are also requesting the assignment of a magistrate judge to “resolve discovery disputes.”
The parties requested the discovery period last 16 months because of the “large number” of witnesses and “anticipated difficulty” in locating or scheduling depositions because some of the people may be in prison, according to the statement. In all in may be until Fall 2027 before a trial could take place, the parties said.
D.C. District Judge Ana C. Reyes called this “rather leisurely” and “unacceptable.” She ordered the plaintiffs and defense to meet again and come up with a quicker schedule.
Reyes’ order:
The Court has reviewed the parties’ 32 Joint Meet and Confer Statement. The parties disagree on the due date for initial disclosures and the number of interrogatories, requests for production of documents and admissions, and number of depositions. The parties bring these disputes even though the Court has made clear that it will not entertain these types of frivolous disputes. The parties are ORDERED to meet and confer again and reach agreement on the issues identified in this Order. To aid the parties, the Court notes the Government’s position that 25 interrogatories and document requests for a case of this complexity and magnitude is untenable. As is the Plaintiff’s position that she is somehow entitled to 100 interrogatories, unlimited document requests and admissions, and 50 fact depositions. If the parties are unable to reach agreement by video, they are ORDERED to meet in person in Washington, D.C. to confer further. If the parties prove unable to reach ultimate agreement, the Court will enter a show cause order as to why it should not sanction a party if it finds that party is, or both are, being unreasonable. In the future, the Court expects the parties to only bring truly intractable and legitimate disputes to its attention, such as, if there is disagreement whether to bifurcate the trial. Further, the parties’ rather leisurely 24-month schedule for pre-trial proceedings in this case is unacceptable. The parties are directed to meet and confer on a schedule that puts trial, at the latest, in December 2025.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Babbitt and other supporters of then-President Donald Trump raided the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump continued to lie that he actually won the 2020 presidential election, saying that it was being stolen from him.
“Ashli traveled alone from San Diego to Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021, to attend the Women for America First (aka Save America) rally the next morning at the Ellipse, located just south of the White House,” the complaint filed in the Southern District of California. “The rally featured President Trump and prominent conservative speakers. Ashli loved her country and wanted to show her support for President Trump’s America First policies and to see and hear the president speak live while he remained in office. Ashli did not go to Washington as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose. She was there to exercise what she believed were her God-given, American liberties and freedoms.”
As seen on video, members of the crowd smashed away at the barricaded doors.
“He’s got a gun!” said a man in the footage below.
Babbitt began to climb through a smashed out glass panel. A Capitol officer opened fire. She fell backward, fatally struck.
Please note that the footage below is disturbing.
The officer who killed Babbitt stepped forward as Lt. Michael Byrd. Speaking to “NBC Nightly News” in 2021, Byrd articulated why he believed an imminent threat was immediately present: other officers were reportedly injured; he ordered lawmakers to evacuate; and he was confronted by a mob which allegedly refused commands to back down.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Capitol Police announced that Byrd was cleared of criminal and internal wrongdoing.
“The investigation further determined that Ms. Babbitt was among a mob of people that entered the Capitol building and gained access to a hallway outside ‘Speaker’s Lobby,’ which leads to the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives,” federal prosecutors wrote. “At the time, the USCP was evacuating Members from the Chamber, which the mob was trying to enter from multiple doorways. USCP officers used furniture to barricade a set of glass doors separating the hallway and Speaker’s Lobby to try and stop the mob from entering the Speaker’s Lobby and the Chamber, and three officers positioned themselves between the doors and the mob. Members of the mob attempted to break through the doors by striking them and breaking the glass with their hands, flagpoles, helmets, and other objects. Eventually, the three USCP officers positioned outside the doors were forced to evacuate. As members of the mob continued to strike the glass doors, Ms. Babbitt attempted to climb through one of the doors where glass was broken out. An officer inside the Speaker’s Lobby fired one round from his service pistol, striking Ms. Babbitt in the left shoulder, causing her to fall back from the doorway and onto the floor.”
Alberto Luperon contributed to this report
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