'Despicable': Critics outraged after Ashli Babbitt's family awarded $5 million from Trump
Jan 6. insurrectionists in Washington. mage via Gallagher Photography/Shutterstock
The Trump administration has reportedly agreed to pay nearly $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Ashli Babbitt, a supporter of President Donald Trump who was fatally shot when she attempted to break into the Speaker of House's corridor during the Jan. 6. insurrection.
Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, was shot by a Capitol Police officer while attempting to climb through a barricaded door near the House Speaker's Lobby on Jan 6. 2021.
The Washington Post reported Monday that the settlement resolves the lawsuit filed by her family in early 2024, which initially sought $30 million in damages. The agreement avoids a trial that was scheduled for July 2026.
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Approximately one-third of the settlement amount will go to Babbitt's attorneys, including the conservative group Judicial Watch and Virginia lawyer Richard Driscoll, per the report.
The settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing by the government.
The decision has been met with widespread criticism on social media, with many users expressing concerns that it constitutes an unnecessary expenditure of taxpayer funds.
Dan Cluchey, a former White House speechwriter, wrote on the social platform X: "Donald Trump is giving *your* tax dollars away to the family of an insurrectionist who stormed the Capitol to overturn an election at the behest of Donald Trump."
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"You can’t have Medicaid but a criminal’s family can have $5 million," said lobbyist Lisa Kirbie.
"Giving our tax dollars to insurrectionists, solely because they were Trump supporters. Absolutely despicable," wrote a user.
"American tax dollars going to an insurrectionist," said another.
Political commentator Shea Jordon Smith wrote: "Ashli Babbitt — the insurrectionist who stormed the Capitol on January 6 — has a family that’s about to get $5 million in so-called 'wrongful death' money from the Trump administration. Thirty million dollars[sic] — for revolting while white."
