Latest news with #Speaker'sLobby
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter seen smashing Speaker's Lobby door charged with burglary
A Virginia man who was pardoned by the Trump administration after being seen smashing the Speaker's Lobby door during Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol was charged with burglary. Henrico County police responded to a call for breaking and entering on May 9. The police officers spoke with the homeowners, who said that around 8:30 p.m. local time, an unknown man entered their home in Arthurwood Place through the back door. The individual allegedly took 'several' items before being observed by people in the house and was asked to leave, Henrico County police said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Law enforcement on Tuesday identified the suspect as Zachary Jordan Alam, 33, of Centreville, Va., who they said was arrested in a neighborhood near the crime scene. Alam was charged with residential breaking and entering and vandalism, according to Henrico County police. The statement did not specify the date of the charges. Upon returning to the office in January, President Trump pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants. 'What they've done to these people is outrageous,' the president said at the time. Alam was convicted on charges related to smashing the glass panes of the Speaker's Lobby door with a black helmet. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in November last year. 'I believe in my heart that I was doing the right thing,' Alam said in court at the time, referring to his actions following Trump's 'Stop the Steal' rally. Prosecutors previously said that Alam assisted other rioters in scaling barriers. When he was inside the Capitol building, he allegedly threw a red velvet rope from the balcony at law enforcement and attempted to kick a door on the fourth floor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration agrees to pay Ashli Babbitt's family $5 million
The Justice Department has agreed in principle to pay $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a former Air Force veteran who was shot dead during the Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021, Fox News has learned. Babbitt's estate, through her husband Aaron, filed a $30 million lawsuit last year over her fatal shooting when she attempted to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker's Lobby inside the Capitol. Attorneys for both the Justice Department and Babbitt's estate said during a court hearing on Friday that they had reached an agreement in principle to resolve the case, according to reports. Ashli Babbitt Shooting Was Lawful, Unnamed Capitol Police Officer Cleared, Internal Review Finds Babbitt was one of hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters who entered or attempted to breach the U.S. Capitol during the riot after Congress voted to certify President Joe Biden's election win. Video clips posted online depict Babbitt, wearing a stars and stripes backpack and a Trump flag draped around her neck, stepping up and beginning to go through the waist-high opening of an area of the Capitol known as the Speaker's Lobby when a gunshot is heard. She could be seen falling backward. Read On The Fox News App How My Jan. 6 Clients Were Robbed Of Fairness In Dc Bench Trials Another video showed other unidentified people attempting to lift Babbitt up. She could be seen slumping back to the ground. Babbitt was rushed to Washington Hospital Center, but could not be saved. The Capitol Police officer who shot her was cleared of wrongdoing by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which concluded that he acted in self-defense and in defense of members of Congress. The Capitol Police also cleared the officer. United States Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger sent a message to his department's officers earlier this month after hearing of the proposed settlement, writing that he was "extremely disappointed." "In 2021, the DOJ said that there was no evidence to show that law enforcement broke the law. After a thorough investigation, it was determined to be a justified shooting," Manger wrote, according to the Washington Post. "This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement officers across our nation — especially those who have a protective mission like ours." Fox News' David Spunt, Danielle Wallace, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this article source: Trump administration agrees to pay Ashli Babbitt's family $5 million
The Hill
20-05-2025
- The Hill
Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter seen smashing Speaker's Lobby door charged with burglary
A Virginia man who was pardoned by the Trump administration after being seen smashing the Speaker's Lobby door during Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol was charged with burglary. Henrico County police responded to a call for breaking and entering on May 9. The police officers spoke with the homeowners, who said that around 8:30 p.m. local time, an unknown man entered their home in Arthurwood Place through the back door. The individual allegedly took 'several' items before being observed by people in the house and was asked to leave, Henrico County police said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Law enforcement on Tuesday identified the suspect as Zachary Jordan Alam, 33, of Centreville, Va., who they said was arrested in a neighborhood near the crime scene. Alam was charged with residential breaking and entering and vandalism, according to Henrico County police. The statement did not specify the date of the charges. Upon returning to the office in January, President Trump pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants. 'What they've done to these people is outrageous,' the president said at the time. Alam was convicted on charges related to smashing the glass panes of the Speaker's Lobby door with a black helmet. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in November last year. 'I believe in my heart that I was doing the right thing,' Alam said in court at the time, referring to his actions following Trump's 'Stop the Steal' rally. Prosecutors previously said that Alam assisted other rioters in scaling barriers. When he was inside the Capitol building, he allegedly threw a red velvet rope from the balcony at law enforcement and attempted to kick a door on the fourth floor.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration to settle Ashli Babbitt wrongful death suit for $5 million, source says
The Trump administration has agreed to pay nearly $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a pro-Donald Trump rioter who was shot and killed after breaching the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. The settlement, once approved in court, will end a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt's family. Prosecutors said in a hearing earlier this month that a settlement agreement had been reached, though details were not made clear at the time. The Washington Post first reported the settlement amount. As Babbitt was attempting to climb through a broken window leading to the Speaker's Lobby outside the House of Representatives' chamber during the attack, a US Capitol Police officer shot and killed Babbitt. The officer was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing related to the shooting. During a hearing on May 2, lawyers for Babbitt's estate as well as attorneys for the Justice Department confirmed that a settlement in principle has been reached in the case and said the agreement would cover all parameters of the suit. In April 2021, the US attorney for the District of Columbia determined that no federal laws were broken in the shooting. The Justice Department found 'no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully' used unlawful or unreasonable force. 'Specifically, the investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber,' the office wrote in a statement at the time. Different legal standards, however, exist for civil suits like the one brought by Babbitt's family, and criminal charges. In a statement Monday, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said he was 'extremely disappointed and disagree with this settlement.' 'In 2021, the DOJ investigation determined no wrongdoing by police. This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide, especially to those with a protective mission like ours,' Manger said. CNN has reached out to the Babbitt estate attorney and Justice Department for comment.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Taxpayers Will Pay Ashli Babbitt's Family $5 Million Thanks to Trump
The Trump administration is planning to pay the family of January 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt $5 million to settle a lawsuit. The Washington Post reports that the family of Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer while trying to climb through a broken glass panel of the barricaded Speaker's Lobby doors inside the Capitol, reached a settlement with the Department of Justice earlier this month. The terms of the settlement had not been disclosed until two unnamed sources spoke with the Post Monday. The settlement reverses a 2021 DOJ finding that Babbitt's civil rights were not violated and it was reasonable for the officer who shot her to believe he was acting in self-defense or in defense of members of Congress. U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd was also cleared by a Capitol Police investigation, which found that his actions '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.' One-third of the settlement will go towards the Babbitt family's lawyers, which include the right-wing legal group Judicial Watch and Richard Driscoll, an attorney in Alexandria, Virginia. Conservatives, led by Trump, have tried to rewrite the narrative of January 6, 2021, minimizing the violence of the rioters, who sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and paint them as victims who were unfairly punished by the justice system for supporting Trump. The president has in effect legitimized the rioters' actions by issuing blanket pardons for everyone involved in the insurrection, including violent participants and hate group members such as the Proud Boys. He has also taken steps to punish prosecutors and federal law enforcement officers involved in investigating and bringing cases against the rioters. The settlement with Babbitt's family will appease Trump's diehard supporters who would be willing to commit violence on his behalf, and is an attempt to rewrite history by painting Babbitt as a victim and martyr rather than one of the many criminals on that day four years ago. It also sends the message that violence committed in Trump's name won't lead to punishment, but to rewards.
