Judicial Watch has been spearheading the case on the family’s behalf.
The DOJ now has a thirty-day window to supply the court with its response to the civil case initiated by Babbitt’s family as they are bringing a wrongful death suit against the government.
The Justice Department must respond to the lawsuit’s claims for wrongful death, assault and battery, negligence and a claim for “survival action” under federal law. (As a result of the court’s order, the lawsuit will proceed on these key counts, as the court considers the Biden administration’s request to dismiss certain other claims.)
The Judicial Watch complaint recounts:
The shooting occurred at the east entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby. After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd, who is a United States Capitol Police commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot