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What happened to Ashli Babbitt? Air Force vet shot dead in US Capitol violence retweeted MAGA conspiracy theories

Ashli Babbitt was injured when a huge number of President Donald Trump supporters breached the security perimeter and entered the Capitol as the Congress was meeting

A woman who was shot inside the US Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, during the violent pro-Trump protest has succumbed to her injuries. She was injured when a huge number of President Donald Trump supporters breached the security perimeter and entered the Capitol as the Congress was meeting, expected to vote and affirm Joe Biden’s presidential win.

The woman was identified as Ashli Babbitt, a San Diego resident. Babbitt worked as a female Air Force vet and was a Trump supporter. She had 14 years in the service and done four tours of duty, the station said. The day before she was fatally shot, apparently by Capitol Police, Babbitt tweeted, “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." 

The protesters, some of who were seen wearing body armor, made their way up the steps around 2:15 pm ET. It's unclear what led to the shooting or if law enforcement was involved. Rep Markwayne Mullin, R-Ok, told ABC News Live that he saw the shooting happened and allegedly saw police shoot the woman.

Protesters were seen quarreling with officers both inside the building and outside. Hours later, police had declared the Capitol was secured. Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a citywide curfew from 6 pm Wednesday(Jan 6) to 6 am Thursday(Jan 7). The DC National Guard was activated, more than 1,000 National Guard members were mobilized to help control things. The rapid expansion of military involvement came after the DC Mayor requested that guards members already on duty be sent to the Capitol, said a defense official and a District official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Here is the video of the incident.

On Jan 6, with the sound of trumpets, pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in a chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power. They forced lawmakers to be rushed from the building and interrupted President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Earlier, in a huge rally near the White House, President Donald Trump had egged his supporters on to march to Capitol Hill. 

Sen Lindsey Graham said, "I support peaceful protests but not violence and destruction. People need to leave the Capitol now! This is a national embarrassment."

As soon as the news made its way to social media, people started reacting to it. One social media user said, "Law enforcement should keep rubber bullets for a this-no reason to kill. Yes, she was climbing a window into a secured area but not a physical threat. I detest these protestors’ movement and basis but we have to avoid deadly force unless absolutely necessary." While another one wrote, "Unfortunately it looked like this woman was filmed as she died...so sad. She was only young."

Another one said, "And now she is dead. Because the Capitol Police allowed the thugs to storm the Capitol. There was no reason not to be prepared; there was no reason not to expect this. This was allowed to happen." Drawing comparisons, another one wrote, "Ohhh just like Brianna Taylor was shot but she was an unarmed women in her house and not in an unsolicited area..how the tables have turned ."

While some blamed Trump, as one said, "Her blood is on Trump's hands, he must GO NOW!!" While one suggested, "I agree with the Trump supporters but this is NO THE WAY TO HANDLE IT. As Americans, we are better than a mob mentality."

As per reports, supporters of Trump portrayed her as a martyr after her social media account was splashed with retweets of bogus conspiracy theories about how Joe Biden stole the election from Trump.