Ashli Babbitt: How hatred for Hillary Clinton drove former Barack Obama voter into the arms of Donald Trump
A report has claimed that Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6 during the riots at the Capitol building, was a “hardcore libertarian” and voted for former President Barack Obama before she turned towards Donald Trump as she hated Hillary Clinton. The revelation was made by an investigative website, called Bellingcat, which shared that “over the past five years, a potent MAGA online subculture appears to have transformed this former Obama voter. The story of her political awakening is well told through her activity on Twitter.”
As reported by The Sun, the website explained that the deadly protests at the Capitol "shows an ideological journey that saw her travel from stating she had backed President Barack Obama to engaging in damaging right-wing conspiracy theories.” "While Babbitt was described to San Diego news stations as a patriot by her husband and 'loyal and extremely passionate' by her brother-in-law, her social media history details engagement with some of the darker sentiments circulating in online right-wing and pro-Trump circles in recent years," it added.
Bellingcat, that followed Babbitt’s social media presence along with other open-source information to understand her change of heart and political stand, also mentioned that in 2018, the woman told someone on Twitter that she earlier supported Obama. “F*** yes I did... he was our president dude... I love America...I think Obama did great things... I think he jacked some s*** up but I think he did do a lot of good at a time where we needed him. I voted for him! And I voted for Trump. I could not vote for Hillary,” she added at the time.
A report by CNN stated that back in 2016 when Hillary was contesting against Trump, the people of America were "exceptionally angry with their political establishment”. Several citizens felt that Obama and members of Congress "failed to deliver on their promises of a better nation" and as a result, Hillary had to bear the anger of the people. On that, Bellingcat stated that "by that time, Babbitt was describing herself on her Twitter page as a hardcore libertarian, and tweeted messages of support to political figures like Senator Rand Paul, Meghan McCain, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens".
However, it was in 2019 that Babbitt’s “Twitter feed struck a more explicit anti-establishment tone. That September, Babbitt wrote about a ‘political global ring/Hollywood/elite’.” Soon her social media posts "became more conspiratorial, lambasting the media and 'elites’ involvement in human trafficking. She had yet to mention QAnon, but did refer to the Pizzagate conspiracy theory." "Like nearly all QAnon followers, she believed the election results were rigged and that Trump had won, but that wasn’t Babbitt’s only motivation to attend the January 6 rally. She first announced she’d be in attendance by replying to a post that reads, 'We will not let the children be forgotten'," Bellingcat said.
On January 6 when Babbitt along with other rioters was trying to enter the House Chamber, a bullet struck her. She succumbed to her injuries later in a hospital, police said. Her husband while remembering her told Fox 5 News, “She loved her country and she was doing what she thought was right to support her country, joining up with like-minded people that also love their president and their country. She was voicing her opinion and she got killed for it.”
Babbitt‘s ex-husband Timothy McEntee also paid tribute to her as he said to the Washington Post, that she was “very loud and opinionated, but caring, sweet, thoughtful, loving.” “I feel absolutely terrible and sick to my stomach about it. She was never afraid to speak her mind and in a way this was her way of speaking her mind (going to the rally),” McEntee added.