Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., tried to strip military funeral honors from Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt over her participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Babbitt has become a controversial figure since her death. Republicans say she was an unarmed protester killed by police, while Democrats say she was attacking the heart of democracy.
What happened to Ashli Babbitt?
Babbitt was shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer as she climbed through a shattered door next to the House floor. The door window was broken by rioters using helmets, flagpoles and their bare hands.
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“She didn’t die protecting our country. She died trying to tear it down,” Gallego said during a speech on the Senate floor. “She is a traitor, and we all know it.”
The Air Force denied military honors to Babbitt during the Biden administration, but that decision was overturned by the Trump administration. Military secretaries can deny a veteran military honors if they deem it appropriate, according to the Department of Defense.
Why does Gallego believe Babbitt doesn’t deserve military honors?
Gallego, a retired Marine and Iraq War veteran, said Babbitt does not deserve the same honor as those who died in combat.
“I saw Marines dying, holding the lines so others may have a chance to live. And I buried brothers — brothers who gave everything to protect others, to protect this nation,” Gallego said. “To pretend that Ashley Babbitt deserves the same honors is not only a betrayal of their service, of the oath that they had, but it’s also a betrayal of all the oaths that we have all sworn.”
Gallego’s resolution would have stripped Babbitt of military honors under Section 985 of Title 10 of United States Code, which makes those who commit capital crimes ineligible for military funerals. It also disqualifies veterans and active duty members if the circumstances surrounding their death would “bring discredit upon the person’s service.”
Republicans object to Gallego’s resolution
“Unfortunately, Ashley is not with us any longer, so this petty resolution would serve no other purpose than to punish the Babbitt family,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., responded to Gallego. “It’s disgraceful, and it’s un-American.”
Tuberville objected to the resolution, which was enough to sink it because Gallego tried to pass it via unanimous consent.
The senator went on to ask why similar concerns were not raised about veterans who were involved in other controversial events.
“I ask my colleague, where are the resolutions calling to revoke the honors from veterans involved in the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots after George Floyd? How about the ones that participated in a six-month siege of a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon? Or the ones who attacked the White House in May of 2020, injuring more than 60 Secret Service agents,” Tuberville said. “They don’t exist because it doesn’t fit the narrative.”
Reports indicate Babbitt was cremated in 2021. Air Force Undersecretary Mathew Lohmeier invited the Babbitt family to the Pentagon so he could personally give them his condolences. The Trump administration settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family for $5 million. The officer who shot Babbitt was cleared of wrongdoing after a Justice Department investigation.
