‘BEST THEY COULD’

Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt, Air Force Vet in Capitol Riot, ‘Didn’t Have a Choice,’ GOP Lawmaker Says

“The mob was going to come through the door, there was a lot of members and staff that were in danger at the time,” said Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who witnessed the shooting.

The U.S. Capitol Police officer who killed an Air Force vet when a mob stormed the beacon of democracy on Wednesday “didn’t have a choice at that time,” a GOP lawmaker who witnessed the shooting said Thursday. “They were trying to come through the front door, which is where I was at in the chamber, and in the back they were trying to come through the speaker’s lobby, and that’s problematic when you’re trying to defend two fronts,” Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said on Good Morning America. “When they broke the glass in the back, the [police] lieutenant that was there—him and I already had multiple conversations prior to this—and he didn’t have a choice at that time. The mob was going to come through the door, there was a lot of members and staff that were in danger at the time. And when he [drew] his weapon, that’s a decision that’s very hard for anyone to make and, once you draw your weapon like that, you have to defend yourself with deadly force.”

The officer reportedly shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, a San Diego resident who supported the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory. Mullin said authorities ultimately “showed a lot of restraint” and “did the best they could” amid the chaos.