NEW: Trump admin secures $5 million settlement for family of Ashli Babbitt: report

The US government will be paying out $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the woman who was shot by a police officer on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol, according to the Washington Post.

Babbitt was a Trump supporter who was fatally shot by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. The lawsuit said that Byrd had been negligent in his killing of Babbitt, who was in the frame of a window when she was shot the day of the January protest and riot.

In 2024, Babbitt's family filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for wrongful death and said, "Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby. Ashli posed no threat to the safety of anyone."

It further said that Babbitt did not go to the Capitol building “as part of a group or for any unlawful or nefarious purpose.” 

Babbitt was unarmed at the time and the lawsuit claimed that she had her hands in the air when she was shot. An investigation into the shooting by the Capitol Police cleared Byrd of his involvement, claiming that he "potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol and to the House Chamber where members and staff were steps away."

Nobody aside from Babbitt died directly from the actions taken during the protest and riot. Under former President Joe Biden's Justice Department, the DOJ said that Babbitt's rights were not violated during the incident and that it was reasonable for Byrd to fire in self-defense.

Earlier this year, Trump had indicated that he would settle the lawsuit brought by Babbitt's family.