Ashli Babbitt's widower reacts to interview with Capitol Police cop who killed his wife: 'We are going down a bad rabbit hole'



After months of not knowing who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the identity of the shooter was revealed Thursday during an NBC News interview. Ashli Babbitt's widower reacted to the interview with the Capitol Police cop who killed his wife.

Lt. Michael Byrd sat down for an NBC News interview to announce that he was the Capitol Police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Babbitt, an unarmed Trump supporter who tried to climb through a door with broken glass inside the Capitol.

"I know that day I saved countless lives," Byrd proclaimed during the interview.

Byrd, a 28-year veteran of the Capitol Police, said there was no political motivation for the shooting. Byrd said he had been inundated with death threats since he shot and killed Babbit, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran.

Ashli Babbitt's husband appeared Thursday evening on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight," where he reacted to Byrd's interview by saying he felt "pissed off."

Aaron Babbitt, Ashli Babbitt's widower, said he hadn't seen the full interview with his wife's killer, but had seen some video clips and read the entire transcript.

"I had not heard that one clip that you just played and my agitation level is actually going through the roof right now where he admitted he didn't really care if she was armed or not or unarmed or not," Aaron Babbitt explained. "He didn't care. So yeah, we are going down a bad rabbit hole right now."

Aaron addressed Byrd's claims about receiving death threats because of the deadly Jan. 6 shooting.

"And I don't even want to hear him talk about how he's getting death threats and he's scared," Aaron told host Tucker Carlson. "I've been getting death threats since Jan. 7 — two, three, five, 10 a day — and all I did on Jan. 6 was become a widower, so you're going to have to suck it up, bud and take it."

Carlson brought up an allegation against Byrd from 2019, where the officer "left his Glock 22 in a bathroom in the Capitol Visitor Center complex," according to Roll Call. Another Capitol Police officer reportedly discovered the unattended gun.

"This is a David v. Goliath fight we've got going on here," Aaron Babbitt said, noting that only a few Congress members have been helpful.

Tucker Carlson, Aaron Babbitt (Ashli Babbitt's Husband), And Terrell Roberts (Babbitt Family Attorney) React To The… https://t.co/oFCczX9BSY

— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) 1630027210.0

Earlier this month, Ashli Babbitt's mother said she had not received "one phone call, not one email" from U.S. lawmakers, Democratic and Republican, who she contacted for answers into her daughter's death. The mother, Micki Witthoeft, noted that the only individual "in an official capacity" that has contacted her is former President Donald Trump, who called on July 1.

Newsweek reported in April that Terry Roberts, the Babbitt family's lawyer, plans to sue the U.S. Capitol Police for at least $10 million in the death of Ashli Babbitt.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Capitol Police exonerated Byrd in the lethal shooting following an internal investigation, and declared that "no further action will be taken in this matter."

'I saved countless lives': Capitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt said it was his last resort after rioters ignored warnings



The U.S Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol said he did so as a last resort but didn't regret his actions because he "saved countless lives."

Lt. Michael Byrd revealed his identity in an interview with NBC News after he was cleared of wrongdoing in the matter by an internal investigation.

Byrd, who is a 28-year veteran of the Capitol Police, went through the events of the day and how the violence was escalating before the infamous moment when he pulled the trigger on his police firearm.

He said he and other officers used furniture to barricade the glass doors that led to the lobby of the U.S. House of Representatives chamber, where 60 to 80 members of Congress were waiting out the rioting outside.

"Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were," Byrd said in the interview with Lester Holt. "There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out."

Byrd said he he heard alarming messages from his police radio, reporting police down, rioters employing chemical agents, and even one report of an officer's fingers being blown off.

That's when the rioters arrived at the barricaded door.

Byrd said he took a defensive posture with his gun drawn as rioters began to break the glass to the door.

He says that he yelled repeatedly at them to get back, but they pressed forward. That's when Babbitt tried to jump through one of the broken windows, and he fired at her.

Byrd says that he has been in hiding since his name leaked to right-wing websites and he started receiving racist messages and death threats.

But he said that he made the right decision.

"I know that day I saved countless lives," Byrd said in the interview. "I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that's my job."

He also said that he did not know at the time if Babbitt, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was carrying a weapon. He said he shot her as a "last resort" after yelling several warnings.

"I tried to wait as long as I could," he told Holt. "I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers."

Babbitt's family said they plan to file a civil lawsuit against the Capitol Police over the incident.

Byrd denies that he had any political motivation in the shooting.

"I do my job for Republican, for Democrat, for white, for Black, red, blue, green," he said. "I don't care about your affiliation."

Here's a Twitter video from the interview:

In an exclusive interview with @LesterHoltNBC, Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd describes why he's choosing t… https://t.co/v7waB7Zpz2
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) 1630020900.0

Internal investigation exonerates Capitol Police officer who killed Ashli Babbitt during Jan. 6 riot



The U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot and killed protester Ashli Babbitt in the Jan. 6 riot has been exonerated by an internal investigation.

A department memo obtained by NBC News said that "no further action will be taken in this matter" after finding the officer was justified in using deadly force.

Babbitt was a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force from San Diego and an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, according to her family.

The 35-year-old Babbitt was shot by the officer as she tried to climb through a broken window in a door breached by rioters outside the "Speaker's Lobby" near the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was shot in the shoulder and taken to a hospital where she later died.

Video of the shooting quickly went viral on social media.

The officer, who remained unidentified, had been placed on administrative leave "and their police powers suspended" during the investigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice had announced in April that the officer would not face any charges in the death of Babbitt.

In June, Babbitt's family filed a lawsuit to force the government to reveal the identity of the officer who killed her. They said that they also intended to sue for a violation of Babbitt's constitutional rights and were going to demand more than $10 million dollars.

Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma defended the actions of the officer in an interview with ABC News.

"He didn't have a choice at that time, the mob was gonna come through the door, there was a lot of members and staff that were in danger at the time," Mullin said.

Also on Friday, the officials told Reuters that the FBI had found no evidence that the riot at the Capitol had been "centrally coordinated by far-wing groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump. At least 570 people have been arrested for taking part in the riot.

Here's more about the death of Ashli Babbitt:

No charges in death of Ashli Babbittwww.youtube.com