Ashli Babbitt’s mother arrested during protest outside Capitol on 2nd anniversary of deadly insurrection
Ashli Babbitt #AshliBabbitt
The mother of Ashli Babbitt was arrested during a protest in Washington, D.C., on Friday, two years after her daughter was fatally shot by police after storming the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
According to U.S. Capitol Police, Micki Witthoeft, Ashli Babbitt’s 58-year-old mother, was among a group of demonstrators illegally blocking traffic on Independence Avenue, outside the Capitol.
The group did not have a permit to demonstrate on Capitol grounds, the USCP said in a statement, and officers formed a perimeter and repeatedly told the demonstrators to “get out of the road” or they would be arrested.
“A woman in the group was given multiple warnings to get out of the road,” the statement read. “Instead of getting out of the road, the woman refused to leave, turned around with her hands behind her back, and asked to be arrested.”
The woman, identified by police as Witthoeft, was arrested for two Capitol traffic violations: disobeying an order and blocking and obstructing roadways. She was given a citation to appear in court at a later date and released.
Babbitt was among the mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 and tried to break through the barricaded doors of the Speaker’s Lobby while Congress was in the process of certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. She was fatally shot by Lt. Michael Byrd, a Capitol Police officer who was trying to protect dozens of House members and staff who were sheltering inside the House chamber.
A Justice Department investigation concluded that Byrd acted reasonably, and a separate internal investigation by the Capitol Police found no wrongdoing.
Babbitt’s death has long been the subject of far-right conspiracy theories about the Capitol attack. And Babbitt has been portrayed as a martyr by Trump supporters — and by the former president himself.
In October 2021, Trump recorded a video message for her family on what would’ve been her 36th birthday.
In the video, Trump called Babbitt “a truly incredible person” whose “memory will live on in our hearts for all time.”
“Together we grieve her terrible loss,” he added. “There was no reason Ashli should have lost her life that day. We must all demand justice for Ashli and her family.”