Sen. Ruben Gallego tried but failed Wednesday to block military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the Jan. 6 rioter from San Diego killed by police keeping the mob out of the U.S. House.
“She didn’t die protecting our country, she died trying to tear it down,” the Arizona Democrat said during a floor speech, recalling the hours he and other lawmakers spent in hiding during the siege. “She wasn’t a martyr, she was and is a traitor.”
Gallego, a Marine veteran, said the Air Force veteran forfeited the privilege of military honors by storming the Capitol and joining the attempt to derail certification of the 2020 election.
Babbitt has become an icon for Trump supporters since the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and Republicans quashed Gallego’s effort without a roll call vote that he sought in hopes of forcing them to go on record about her legacy.
President Joe Biden’s administration rejected the Babbitt family’s request for a military funeral and fought a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit.
By contrast, President Trump has depicted Babbitt as a “patriot,” denouncing her death as a murder and the officer who shot her as a “thug.” The Justice Department and the Capitol Police both cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.
Footage captured the confrontation between Babbitt and other rioters at the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby just off the House floor. An officer shot her as she tried to crawl through a smashed window. Steps away, House members were fleeing for safety.
In May, the Trump Justice Department agreed to a $5 million settlement with the family.
On his first day back in office in January, Trump pardoned or issued clemency to more than 1,500 people charged with or convicted of crimes related to the riot, including those who had brutally attacked police.
Democrats viewed the pardons as outrageous.
Gallego has fueled speculation that he’s eyeing a 2028 White House bid with recent visits to Iowa and New Hampshire. He used a debate over the Pentagon budget to put a spotlight on the Babbitt case.
“I remember hearing the pounding on the doors of the House chamber – seeing my colleagues barricading the doors with furniture to stop the insurrectionists from breaking in and disturbing and stopping democracy’s day,” he said.
Gallego spent five terms in the House before winning his Senate seat last November.
Both he and Babbitt served in Iraq. Babbitt spent 14 years on active duty or in the Air National Guard and also deployed to Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates.
“Military honors are sacred,” Gallego said. “To give them to Babbitt would be a spit in the face to … every veteran who died defending this country.”
