Ashli Babbitt shooting: Chaotic last moments of Air Force veteran's death revealed, here's why she was shot
Ashli Babbitt's death has resulted in much furor and contention about how Capitol Police shot her dead while she had been unarmed. There has also been backlash about how the current sentiment regarding her death was so different than when protesters across the US were treated when the Black Lives Movement had taken place. Now, in an unsealed criminal complaint against a Texas man who attended the siege, federal authorities have detailed Babbitt's last moments as well.
In the complaint against Christopher Grider, the authorities detailed how Grider had been a part of the mob of Donald Trump supporters on January 6 and all of them had approached the Speaker’s Lobby from the rotunda of the Capitol building. Babbitt had also been with Grider who was spotted holding a helmet in his hand. He handed another man with them who was dressed in a fur-lined hat his helmet so that the windows separating them from the House chambers could be broken. Once the window had been smashed, Babbitt had tried to climb over and that was when she was shot by the Capitol Police.
According to a report in New York Post, the complaint stated, "Grider remained and could be seen minutes after the shooting leaning over the railing to get a better glimpse of Babbitt bleeding on the floor. Grider was holding his phone over the stairway appearing to capture a video or pictures of Babbitt." Grider was indicted by federal prosecutors in Washington, DC on Wednesday and at the moment he faces a number of charges that include the destruction of government property, aiding and abetting, entering and remaining in a restricted building, and disorderly conduct in a restricted building. All of this because of his alleged involvement in the riots. He is expected to appear in federal court in Texas on Wednesday afternoon.
Grider had spoken to a local Texas station about the riot that had taken place on January 6 and at that time, he had spoken about witnessing the death of Babbitt and how everyone around him was stunned by it too. He had said in the interview, "They were shocked as everyone else was when the people on the other
side of the door, from 20 feet away, shot her in the chest."
Babbitt was an Air Force veteran who had 14 years in the service and she had done four tours of duty. She was a resident from San Diego and had traveled to Washington, DC for the protests.