Ashli Babbitt’s military funeral honors restored
Ashli Babbitt, U.S. Air Force veteran, was shot by, Michael Byrd, one of the Capitol Police officers as she and other protesters entered a barricaded entrance. Babbitt subsequently died from her wounds. The Air Force denied Babbitt the military funeral honors that similarly qualified veterans would get upon their death. The Air Force refenced the circumstances leading to her death as justification for denying the honors. The police officer who shot Babbitt was deemed to have acted based on law and regulation. The Air Force reversed its previous decision and granted funeral military honors to Babbitt.
From The Hill:
“I understand that the family’s initial request was denied by Air Force leadership in a letter dated February 9, 2021,” Lohmeier wrote in the Aug. 15 letter shared by Judicial Watch. “However, after reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
He additionally extended an invitation to her mother and husband to meet him at the Pentagon, so he may offer his condolences.
The Hill requested comment from the Pentagon regarding the veracity of the letter.
Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot as she attempted to climb through a barricaded door to the Speaker’s lobby near the House chamber.
A month after the riot, an Air Force representative under former President Biden’s administration informed her family that military funeral honors were denied for her funeral “due to the circumstances preceding her death.”
“As a result, I have determined that military funeral honors would bring discredit upon the Air Force,” Brian Kelly, an Air Force lieutenant general, wrote in that letter.
Additional Reading:
Lee, E. (2025, August 27). Air Force to provide funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt. The Hill. Link.
Category: Veterans Issues
Now charge Michael Byrd for her murder.
He’s a liar and a coward.
But the woman was threatening him with a wrought iron fence that was like seven feet high. Who knows what she could have done with it?
I agree with the sentiments here. But she was not threatening Byrd with anything. She was climbing through a small broken window in a door. Both her empty hands were visible to him, grasping the window frame.
Send him to Uganda. Naked…and afraid…..
And tie him, pants down over a barrel.
So he can make some new friends
I say leave him pants-down, bent over and chained to a lamp post in downtown Kabul on a Thursday night.
Death by Bonga.
You are a naughty boy! 👀
Barrel of fire ants. With our apologies to the ants.
As the saying goes, bend your knees, touch your toes and I’ll show you where the wild goose goes.
Place barrel over an ant hill.
He wouldn’t last a week.
Had I done what Michael Byrd did, when I was still employed, I’d have faced an open murder charge, been fired and paraded on the nightly news for about a year. No justification for shooting anyone while trying to prevent trespassing.
Why hadn’t she been buried earlier in Jan 2001 so that AF bureaucracy couldn’t weigh in?
She was both alive and a civilian at the time.
She was still alive in 2001. But I wouldn’t second guess a mourning family, especially when she died in such a public way.
It never should have happened to her family. I mostly agree with the McVeigh Law that prohibits military honors to convicted murderers, especially that particular douche nozzle. Slaughtering little kids in the name of white supremacism I am sure earned him a toasty reception in hell, but be that as it is, the Babbitt case is completely different. Not only was she never convicted of a crime, even if she had been convicted of a crime that she was allegedly engaged in when she was killed (Trespassing) she wouldn’t have been disqualified anyway.
The double standard of that day where a police officer killed an unarmed female who wasn’t a threat to anyone was ludicrously bad and probably contributed to the failure of the BLM movement.
No BLM died because of the typical left wing aversion to honesty and high morals.
Jan 6 was a meat grinder for conservatives and a chaotic moment that should never be forgotten.
Ashleigh died because of the cowardice of one man, an entire political party and supported by cowards. She and her family were paraded in shame across the pages of the propaganda media so the left could scream and yell and demand money from those that want to overthrow the United States of America….
Godspeed Young Angel, you have legions that still love you and respect you for all that you did…
And God Bless your family for all their suffering.
Politics?
Lars tears in 3.2.1.
Yes, indeed.
Without bothering to look it up, I’m going to assume she was laid to rest in a timely manner after her death. If so, what good do military funeral honors do now? It’s been 4.5 years since the worst attack on democracy took place. I don’t agree with the Jan. 6th crowd doing what they did (mainly because it was easy to see it’d be used as propaganda against Trump supporters, I know, hindsight, but I was stationed in DC and was elated that I got to telework that day), but I also don’t see where they did anything illegal (for the most part), and definitely nothing dictating the use of deadly force by the cops. If Ashley Babbitt was a black woman trying to burn down a federal courthouse a year earlier, the cop’s head would have been presented to BLM/Antifa supporters on a platter. Ask Derek Chauvin, Amber Guyger, and other ex-cops how their moments of poor judgment and/or overzealousness affected their lives.
So, what, will the family be presented with a folded flag and a memorial certificate signed by Trump’s autopen or signature stamp? Will her marker be replaced with a VA-authorized one? Maybe they’ll exhume her and go full in with three volleys and a flag folding ceremony.
For those interested in what retired O-9 Kelly is up to these days, he’s the president and CEO of MOAA: MOAA – Brian T. Kelly. I’m not eligible for membership, but if I were, I’d consider whether or not I really want to keep it. Kelly’s collecting over $500k in salary and other compensation in addition to his sizeable retirement (Military Officers Association Of America – Nonprofit Explorer – ProPublica), and I have the odd feeling that MOAA “benefits” are mostly limited to the usual (discounts and special rates, magazine, etc.). Sure, they advocate for the officer corps, but there are many other organizations that do the same for the broader military.
MOAA sucks ass.
Life member, but yeah.
Sorry to take it off-topic, but when I opted out of union dues a few years ago, the reps made a big deal about making me return my union discount card. My retired military discounts and AAA discounts, along with not having to pay dues, more than made up for it.
I get letters asking me if I would like to join a retirees union so that I may be represented in my state capital on issues concerning retirees. $25/month, auto payroll deduction, blah blah blah.
I see no benefit TBH.
If you are retired you have time to go gripe in person. I have found that when you go in person the rep is much more responsive.
My thoughts exactly. Why pay xxx per year to someone when I can raise concerns to my representative myself for free.
Hack Stone flashes his employee ID for the proud but humble woman owned business to get a free Thanksgiving dinner every year at the Salvation Army soup kitchen.
Did the Airman who did a killer impression of Kingsford charcoal lump in front of the Israeli Embassy in DC get a military funeral? For some reason, it took about four months to remove his profile in the Air Force GAL.
They were hoping he would get better.
https://tenor.com/view/getting-better-im-getting-better-better-gif-12594656
He would would have survived if he used sunscreen with a 40,000 SPF level.
He used accelerant to speed up the tanning process.
In regards to burning man, I’d definitely say military funeral honors would have brought discredit upon the Air Force.
But his cremation would have had a half price discount since he was already well done.