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Why was unarmed Ashli Babbitt shot and killed? Air Force vet's death by Capitol police slammed as outrage builds

As right-wing supporters flocked to social media to condemn Babbitt's death and express their outrage on the actions of the Capitol police, liberals spoke up, comparing Babbitt's death to the deaths of unarmed Black people

After the white female protestor who was shot and killed at Capitol Hill as pro-Trump rioters overtook the building on Wednesday, January 6, was identified as Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran who had 14 years in the service and did four tours of duty, her death began to be compared with the police shootings of unarmed African-American men. 

A cellphone video shot inside Capitol Hill showed Babbitt draped in red, white, and blue when she was shot, apparently once, and fell to the floor of the Capitol with blood pouring from her mouth. Babbitt was later pronounced dead. It was later determined that Babbitt had tweeted in anticipation of the protests and had traveled to Capitol Hill to join the mob who were looking to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential elections which determined that President-elect Joe Biden had won by hindering the certification of the Electoral College votes in the Congress. 

As right-wing supporters flocked to social media to condemn Babbitt's death and express their outrage on the actions of the capitol police, liberals spoke up, comparing Babbitt's death to the deaths of unarmed Black people – one of which sparked a worldwide Black Lives Matter movement last year. the general consensus was that Babbitt's death would not have invoked the same kind of sentiment had she been Black. 

"Republicans will tell you an unarmed black guy who got shot walking home because he had his hoodie up had it coming but its hateful to speak on someone who was attempting to literally BREAK into the senate building WHILE leaders of the US were inside," one wrote, while another wrote, "All the people bitching that Ashli Babbitt was unarmed when she was shot... wait until you learn about all the unarmed black Americans that they police consistently shoot in cold blood."

A third commented, "Like your camp doesn’t constantly celebrate the death of unarmed black people by the hands of cops. Spare us the fake outrage." One more quipped, "Yep I just wished it didn't resemble all of the right-wing replies every time some unarmed black man is shot in the back." A commenter tweeted, "The tone-deafness of that response... 'she could’ve been arrested' so could every single unarmed black person shot and killed by police." One more wrote, "Now imagine having this kind of empathy for black people gunned down by cops. If it is really that hard to compare these two things you should really do some soul searching."

Her mother-in-law, Robin Babbitt, told the publication that Babbitt was a "Trump supporter". The publication also noted that Babbitt's mother-in-law told a Fox affiliate in DC that she was puzzled by the behavior of her son’s wife. She had tweeted in anticipation of the protests, tweeting the day before, "Nothing will stop us…. they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light."

On December 30, when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris tweeted, "Once sworn in, @JoeBiden and I will get to work in the first 100 days to ensure Americans mask up, distribute 100M shots, and get students safely back to school," Babbitt responded, "No the f**k you will not! No masks, no you, no Biden the kid rapper, no vaccines...sit your fraudulent a** down... we the ppl b**ch!"