The ‘January 6th patriot’ fatally shot at the Capitol will now be honored by the U.S. Air Force as a true patriot under Trump

A United States Air Force member who was fatally shot during the January 6th riot at the Capitol, and who Trump has called a January 6th patriot,” will now be officially honored by the U.S. Air Force as a true patriot under President Trump. The U.S. Air Force has made the decision to provide military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was fatally shot during the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

This action is part of a wider effort for MAGA to reframe the events of that day. The decision was confirmed in an August letter from the Under Secretary of the Air Force, Matthew Lohmeier, to Babbitt’s family. According to The Guardian, the Biden administration had previously denied these military honors. However, Lohmeier stated that he was “persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect,” which is a telling way to say that.

Babbitt, who was 35 years old, had served in both the Air Force and the Air National Guard. A Capitol Police officer shot her while she was trying to climb through a barricaded door near the House chamber during the chaos of the insurrection, which was an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. According to Lohmeier’s letter, the Air Force had originally refused to provide honors back in February 2021 because of the circumstances of her death, which they believed would “bring discredit upon the Air Force.”

January 6 rioter who tried to attack Congress will be honored as a patriot

Babbitt was the only person who died from gunfire during the riot because she was actively trying to get to Congress during her part in the insurrection. She was shot to protect them, but since she was shot trying to do something for Trump, it is now okay.

The announcement of this decision was made public by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch. This public announcement came after the government paid a wrongful death settlement of nearly $5 million to Babbitt’s family in May, but this was also under Trump, as it was only seen as a “wrongful death” by the government after he started praising the rioters as heroes.

This decision fits with the systematic efforts to reimagine the January 6th assault as a legitimate protest instead of a criminal act. These actions have been ongoing for seven months since Donald Trump has been the sitting president. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 individuals who were connected to the riot. He called their prosecutions “a grave national injustice.”

The pardons covered almost everyone who was either in jail or awaiting trial, including leaders of extremist groups who had been found guilty of seditious conspiracy. In addition to the pardons, the administration has taken action against the people who were involved in prosecuting the rioters. Dozens of federal prosecutors who worked on January 6th cases have been fired.

The Justice Department has also hired those who had previously defended rioters or taken part, including one who had compared the prosecutions to the Holocaust. The department also hired Jared Wise, a former FBI agent who had taken part in the attack himself and was charged with encouraging the mob to kill police officers before he received a pardon from Trump.