It has come out in a recent federal lawsuit that U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd, who shot unarmed Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, issued a false radio report alleging that bullets were fired at him in the Speaker’s Lobby and that he was “prepared to fire back.”
The previously unknown radio message is also recorded on an audio tape acquired exclusively by The Epoch Times of Capitol Police’s “OPS2” dispatch channel on that day.
Ms. Babbitt’s widower, Aaron Babbitt of San Diego, filed a federal lawsuit on Jan. 5 seeking information about the tape. Mr. Babbitt is suing the federal government for $30 million in wrongful death damages, with Judicial Watch supporting him.
According to the complaint, Lt. Byrd shot his Glock 22.40 caliber handgun, injuring Ms. Babbitt in the left shoulder, and then declared that he was being fired on and was ready to respond.
“In fact, no shots were fired at Lt. Byrd or his fellow officers,” the lawsuit states. “The only shot fired was the single shot Lt. Byrd fired at Ashli. He heard the loud noise of the gunshot. He saw her fall backward from the window frame.”
A police dispatcher had incorrectly stated, a few