It was last resort, says Capitol cop who shot dead Trump supporter

WASHINGTON • The US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot a woman as she tried to force her way into the House of Representatives during the Jan 6 attack said the shooting was a "last resort" because he believed she posed a threat to members of Congress.

"I tried to wait as long as I could," police lieutenant Michael Byrd said in an interview with NBC Nightly News that aired on Thursday, in what were his first public remarks since the violence.

"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."

Mr Byrd described the shooting as an act of "last resort" as he spoke publicly three days after a review by the Capitol Police concluded that he had acted lawfully and within department policy in shooting the supporter of then President Donald Trump as she tried to force her way through a smashed window into the House of Representatives' Speaker's Lobby.

"It was a very terrifying situation," Mr Byrd said.

The shooting of Ms Ashli Babbitt, 35, came on a day of violence that saw hundreds of Trump supporters fight their way into the Capitol, attacking police and sending lawmakers running.

Ms Babbitt was a US Air Force veteran who embraced far-right conspiracy theories on social media, including Mr Trump's false assertions that his 2020 presidential election loss was due to fraud. She was one of four participants in the riot to die on Jan 6.

Far-right groups have embraced Ms Babbitt as a martyr, arguing she was murdered. Her cause has also been taken up by Mr Trump, who falsely claimed last month that the officer who shot her was the "head of security" for a "high-ranking" Democratic member of Congress.

Police officers who fought the mob recounted scenes of violence in which rioters beat them, taunted them with racist insults and threatened to kill an officer "with his own gun", in testimony last month to a congressional committee.

A Capitol Police officer who was attacked by rioters died the following day. Four officers who took part in the defence of the Capitol later took their own lives. More than 100 officers were injured.

The Capitol Police review of the shooting concluded that it may have saved lives.

"The actions of the officer in this case potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters," the department said, adding that the officer's family had "been the subject of numerous credible and specific threats".

The Justice Department in April closed its investigation into the death of Ms Babbitt, saying there was no evidence the officer had acted criminally in the shooting.

Seven Capitol Police officers sued Mr Trump on Thursday, alleging that he conspired with far-right extremist groups to provoke the Jan 6 attack.

The lawsuit filed in Washington alleges that Mr Trump conspired with extremist groups The Proud Boys and The Oathkeepers, as well as far-right political operatives including Roger Stone and Ali Alexander, who promoted Mr Trump's speech near the White House right before the attack.

"Trump, in concert with other defendants, deliberately and persistently made and encouraged false claims of election fraud to discredit the outcome of the election and disingenuously incite outrage among his supporters," the lawsuit alleged.

The worst violence at the Capitol since the War of 1812 delayed the certification of President Joe Biden's election victory by several hours and brought a huge military presence into the city for several months.

REUTERS