Thursday, June 18, 2026
Vol. VIII
Est. 2019

The Mind Shield

News · Opinion · Politics · Analysis

Attorney for Ashli Babbitt’s family says she was killed in an “ambush” by Capitol police.

Attorney for Ashli Babbitt’s family says she was killed in an “ambush” by Capitol police.

An attorney representing Ashli Babbitt’s family claims she was “recklessly ambushed” by Capitol police when she tried to climb through the broken window above a door leading to the House chamber, where lawmakers were being evacuated on Jan 6, while a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.

Babbitt’s family is planning to file a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against the officer who shot her.



The officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the DOJ.

The attorney representing Babbitt’s family in the case, Terry Roberts claims to have gathered evidence to show she was “ambushed” by the officer, and that the officer had failed to issue a warning prior to firing the shot.

“It’s not debatable. There was no warning,” Roberts told Real Clear Politics. “I would call what he did an ambush. I don’t think he’s a good officer. I think he’s reckless.”



But, Mark Schamel the attorney representing the unnamed officer disputed Roberts’ version of the story, telling the outlet that his client shouted commands at the rioters before firing the shot.

“It’s a false narrative that he issued no verbal commands or warnings,”  Schamel said. “He was screaming, ‘Stay back! Stay back! Don’t come in here!.”

“Lethal force is appropriate if the situation puts you or others in fear of imminent bodily harm,” he continued. “There should be a training video on how he handled that situation. What he did was unbelievable heroism.”



Schamel explained that his client’s commands could not be seen in video footage of the incident because his mouth was covered with a mask to protect from COVID. He also noted the videos were shot on the other side of the doors, where the rioters were shouting and drowning out his words, and he has witness statements to back that up.