The Capitol Police officer who shot and killed a woman during the January 6 insurrection attempt in Washington went public with his identity on Thursday. The man, who was interviewed for the first time after months of speculation about his identity, claimed responsibility for the shooting of Ashli Babbitt, who was one of five people killed during the riot sparked in an effort to deny the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Babbitt has become something of a martyr among those on the far right, and there have been demands to reveal the identity of the officer who fired the deadly shot. But this month, that officer was cleared of all wrongdoing in the shooting and will not face discipline despite some outcry among conspiracy theorists and others in Donald Trump’s orbit.
Authorities declined to name the shooter, but in an interview with NBC News, Lieutenant Michael Byrd said he opened fire as a “last resort” and claimed defending the Capitol from the insurrection “saved countless lives.”
“I know that day I saved countless lives,” Byrd said. “I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job.”
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Asked why he pulled the trigger, Byrd said it was a “last resort.”
“I tried to wait as long as I could,” he told Holt. “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.”
Byrd’s account of the day is harrowing, including the reports of injuries and attacks on officers from the crowd. The officer stressed that he and others in that doorway were trapped by the advancing crowd, and he could not tell if Babbitt had a weapon or not. The full interview with Lester Holt is certainly worth watching, if only for a reminder of just how harrowing January 6 was for those involved in the coup attempt. Byrd revealing himself to the public answers a question many on the far right have railed about for months, though his name was already leaked in some right-wing circles that came with inevitable death threats and other safety concerns.
“They talked about killing me, cutting off my head,” Byrd said, adding that there were also racist attacks.
“It’s all disheartening because I know I was doing my job.”
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“Sometimes, you can’t do anything but cry,” Byrd said, his voice growing heavy. “You felt like you did your job. You helped protect our legislative leaders of this country and you fought for democracy and keeping them established.”
Hopefully telling his side of the story is a positive for him, but it will likely do little to stop the abuse he’s seen in the wake of January’s events, which continue to damage the republic as Trump’s biggest supporters continue to believe the Big Lie.
[via NBC News]