$5 Million for a Rioter? Why The Ashli Babbitt Payout Should Outrage Every American
The Trump administration is also planning to open a January 6th compensation fund to help other rioters and insurrectionists
Quick Overview
Trump’s administration is handing $5 million of our taxpayer money to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a woman who broke the law, stormed the Capitol, ignored police commands, and tried to force her way into the House Chamber. Now they’re talking about compensating more convicted rioters.
But not one penny, not one, has been offered to the more than 140 police officers who were beaten, bloodied, and broken defending our democracy that day. I’m a lawyer, I’ve seen justice, and this isn’t it. If you’re as outraged as I am, you’ll want to read every word.
I am deeply disappointed and outraged by the Trump administration’s decision to settle the Ashli Babbitt wrongful death lawsuit for $5 million. In my opinion, this decision is nothing short of appalling. It uses our taxpayer dollars to compensate the family of someone who actively participated in a violent riot or insurrection (you pick the term) against our government. I believe this is a gross misuse of public funds and a betrayal of justice and common sense.
Let’s be clear about the facts: Ashli Babbitt was not an innocent bystander caught in some unfortunate accident. She was illegally trespassing and rioting inside the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Along with hundreds of other insurrectionists, she stormed past barricades, defied police commands, and invaded the halls of Congress. That day was one of the darkest in our nation’s recent history, a direct attack on the core of our democracy, and Babbitt chose to be part of it.
Babbitt ultimately attempted to breach the House Speaker’s Lobby, the doorway leading to the House Chamber, by climbing through a shattered glass window. This was not a casual wander through a public building; it was a forcible entry into a secure area at the heart of our government.
On the other side of that doorway were armed officers frantically trying to protect elected officials and staff who were just feet away. Those officers gave repeated, clear commands for Babbitt and the mob to stop and stay back. Had Babbitt heeded those warnings, she would not have been shot. But she did not stop. Instead, she began to climb through the broken window, despite the gun pointed at her and shouts to get back.
In that moment, the officers faced an impossible choice: allow an angry mob to pour through and potentially harm lawmakers, or use lethal force to prevent it. One officer made the split-second decision to fire a single shot, and Ashli Babbitt fell. It was a tragic outcome, but one that she brought on herself by ignoring every opportunity to comply and withdraw.
I take no pleasure in the loss of life. Over the last 30+ years, I’ve represented dozens of surviving family members in wrongful death cases. Regardless of how something happened, these cases are sad and tragic for everyone involved, especially the surviving families and loved ones.
Multiple investigations in the aftermath, by both the Department of Justice and the Capitol Police, clearly concluded that the shooting was lawful and likely saved lives. In other words, the use of force was deemed reasonable given the extreme danger of that situation. I agree wholeheartedly.
In my legal opinion, any reasonable officer in that scenario would have perceived Babbitt and the mob behind her as an imminent threat to the lives of Congress members and staff. The idea that this officer should have somehow held his fire and just hoped for the best is absurd. He did what law enforcement officers are trained to do: protect the innocent and stop a dire threat. Had that mob broken through into the Chamber, we can only imagine the bloodshed that might have followed.
That single shot prevented a potentially larger massacre. Contrary to what Donald Trump tells you, this is the actual context in which Ashli Babbitt lost her life, not as a victim of police brutality, but as an active participant in a violent riot where a police officer had no choice left to protect others.
Despite these facts, Babbitt’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking to hold the government and the officer accountable for her death. That is their legal right, and I encourage anyone with a civil claim to utilize our legal system to find justice. I’ve been trying cases for more than 30 years and despite what you might see or hear on the news, the American legal system works. It’s the best legal system in the world. It allows you to submit your evidence and present your witnesses. You’re given the right to make your arguments and allow the other side to offer a defense. If the plaintiff meets their burden of proof then they win. If not, they lose.
I empathize with any family grieving a loss. But after reviewing the reports and based upon trying many more cases than most lawyers in my career, in my opinion, the lawsuit’s claims were utterly without merit. How can one credibly claim wrongful death when the deceased was part of a mob storming the Capitol, was repeatedly warned to stop, and was advancing toward lawmakers after breaking through a barricaded door? If anything, it was Ashli Babbitt who was in the wrong, not the officer who fired.
I expected the Justice Department to fight this case vigorously in court and defend the officer’s correct actions. Indeed, under the previous administration, that’s exactly what was happening: the DOJ had indicated the shooting was justified and no wrongdoing occurred.
That is why I was astonished and furious to learn that the Trump administration agreed to settle this lawsuit by paying Babbitt’s family $5 million. In my view, this settlement is an outrageous capitulation and a stain on the rule of law. The federal government is essentially telling Babbitt’s family, “You’re right, and we’ll pay you,” despite all evidence showing that Ashli Babbitt was in the wrong.
This isn’t just a legal formality; it’s a $5 million check written on behalf of you and me, the American taxpayers. Our money is being used to compensate the family of an insurrectionist who died committing a crime. As a taxpayer, I am livid. I work hard and pay my taxes with the expectation that those funds will support and protect law-abiding citizens, not be given out to appease the relatives of people who tried to topple our democracy.
Think about what this means. It means that a person can storm into the Capitol, lead a violent charge toward our elected representatives, ignore police orders, and when the predictable consequences come, consequences she was fully responsible for, her family might hit the jackpot courtesy of Uncle Sam. Meanwhile, the real heroes of that day, the officers who defended the Capitol with their bodies and lives, get no multi-million dollar payouts.
Neither Trump, his administration, nor the Attorney General has offered a single dollar to the more than 140 police officers who were beaten, sprayed, crushed, traumatized, hospitalized, and, in some cases, permanently disabled while doing their jobs that day. Not a word. Not a gesture. Not a dime to the families of officers who died in the aftermath of the attack. This is a disgrace. It tells every officer who put their life on the line that Trump’s loyalty to the mob matters more than loyalty to the badge.
This settlement is more than a slap in the face; it’s a punch in the gut to everyone who values justice. It’s telling us that breaking the law might pay off, literally, if you have the right friends in power.
I am not alone in my outrage. Members of law enforcement, especially those who were on duty on January 6, have expressed disgust and disbelief over this decision. The Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police said he was extremely disappointed and disagreed with the decision to settle. I don’t blame him. How are officers supposed to risk their lives to protect our institutions if they fear their own government might later turn around and side with the rioters?
This settlement sends a terrible message to every police officer in the country: even if you do everything by the book, even if you save countless lives, your government can decide to settle with the very people who tried to kill you or those you were guarding. It’s demoralizing. It undercuts the confidence of those brave men and women on the front lines that their leaders will stand up for them when it counts. If I were a Capitol Police officer reading the news of this payout, I would feel betrayed and abandoned.
As referenced above, what message does this send to the families of the officers who suffered and even died defending the Capitol? There were over 140 police officers injured that day by the mob’s violence. Some officers are still dealing with the physical and emotional scars, and some, tragically, lost their lives in the aftermath of the attack.
The family of Officer Brian Sicknick, for example, had to bury a loved one who died after defending the Capitol; the families of Officers Howard Liebengood and Jeffrey Smith grappled with the suicides of their loved ones in the wake of the trauma from that day. Where is the $5 million settlement for those families? Where is the compensation for the dozens of officers who were beaten, sprayed with chemicals, and assaulted while doing their duty on January 6? Those officers and their families have endured unspeakable pain and loss, yet the government is cutting a check to the family of a rioter who contributed to that violence. In my opinion, it’s shameful and morally upside-down.
Even more frightening is how this settlement could embolden future political violence. I fear that by paying off Babbitt’s estate, we are encouraging the very behavior that nearly destroyed our democratic process on January 6. It establishes the precedent that if you participate in an attempted insurrection and something happens to you, your family might later receive a generous windfall, assuming the political winds shift in your favor.
This is an absolutely perverse incentive. It practically invites future extremists to consider taking similar actions, because they see that the government might eventually pardon them, celebrate them, or even pay them for their trouble. Accountability is the cornerstone of deterrence; remove accountability and you remove the main barrier that keeps would-be rioters in check. In my view, this settlement undermines accountability at the highest level. It tells anyone plotting the next attack that they might not only escape justice but might actually be rewarded down the line. That thought should send a chill down every American’s spine.
Why would our government do something so patently destructive to the rule of law and public safety? Sadly, the answer appears to be raw, cynical politics. Former President Donald Trump has made no secret of his feelings about January 6. He has continuously portrayed the rioters of that day as patriotic Americans who were treated unfairly, rather than what they truly were: criminals attacking our democracy.
He has singled out Ashli Babbitt in particular as some kind of martyr. He has even gone so far as to say, falsely, that she was “innocently” just standing there and even trying to calm the crowd, a claim that flies in the face of all visual evidence. In Trump’s telling, the officer who shot her “did something unthinkable,” as if preventing a violent mob from reaching lawmakers were a greater sin than the attack itself.
Settling this lawsuit for millions of dollars is a political move to validate that twisted narrative. It’s a way for Trump to signal to his base that he takes care of “his people,” even the ones who committed egregious crimes on his behalf. But in doing so, he is driving a deeper wedge into our society. These actions do not heal wounds or bring unity; they pour salt in the wounds of everyone who believes in law and order. They deepen the divide between those who saw January 6 as an assault on America and those who now see its perpetrators hailed as heroes.
One of the most egregious ideas floated by President Trump is the possibility of a compensation fund for January 6 rioters. Yes, you heard that right: he mentioned during an interview just the other night that he and others are thinking about setting up a fund to compensate the very people who were prosecuted for storming the Capitol and attacking our democracy.
The notion that these individuals deserve reparations from the government is beyond absurd, it is grotesque. These rioters caused immense harm: they injured scores of police officers, terrorized our elected representatives, and left a scar on our nation’s conscience. Many of them were lawfully tried and convicted for offenses ranging from assault to property destruction to seditious conspiracy. To suggest that they should now be paid for having to face consequences is an insult to justice.
If our government starts writing checks to convicted rioters, we might as well say goodbye to the principle of personal responsibility in America. It would tell every extremist out there that if you commit violence for a political cause and get caught, you might eventually be pardoned, apologized to, and given a pot of gold. Such a policy would be a direct attack on the rule of law, and I cannot imagine a more divisive, destructive course for our country.
I believe the rule of law itself is at stake here. As an attorney, I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and our laws. That oath means nothing if our leaders selectively apply the law based on loyalty or fear. The rule of law means that no person is above accountability, not even those who claim to act out of political fervor or allegiance to a leader.
By paying off Babbitt’s family and considering compensating other rioters, the Trump administration is sending a message that the law can be bent or ignored to favor a violent mob that supported him. This is devastating for our democracy. A healthy democracy cannot function if political violence is excused or rewarded. It cannot survive if leaders undermine justice to placate their faction.
The settlement and the talk of a compensation fund are acts that weaken the very foundations of our nation. They erode trust in our institutions. They send citizens the message that justice is not blind, but rather has one eye open, checking to see if an offender wears a red MAGA hat before deciding how to treat them. That is not how America is supposed to work.
Trump’s handling of this, from the mass pardons of Jan. 6 offenders, to this $5 million settlement, to the talk of rewarding the rioters, is ripping open the wounds of January 6 all over again. It tells the majority of Americans who were horrified by the attack that their outrage is somehow invalid, that the people who tried to overturn the election are the ones who deserve sympathy and cash.
How can that do anything but divide us further? How can we come together as one nation when the former president is glorifying an assault on our Capitol? This is a recipe for more anger, more extremism, and more fragmentation of our American community.
The $5 million payment to Ashli Babbitt’s family is more than just a line item in a legal settlement, it is a symbol of a profound moral and political failure. It represents an abandonment of the principles that make the United States a nation of laws. It represents leadership that cares more about appeasing a violent fringe than upholding justice for all.
I believe every American who cares about democracy, whether Democrat, Republican, or independent, should be alarmed by this. Today it might be compensation for one group of rioters; tomorrow it could be something even worse. We have to draw a line and say: No more. No more rewarding lawlessness. No more undermining the rule of law to score political points. No more spending public money to coddle extremists. Our tax dollars should go toward strengthening our country, not tearing it apart.
I call on our leaders, and on all of us as voters, to remember the true heroes and victims of January 6: the police who defended us, the public servants who upheld their oaths, and the democratic process that ultimately prevailed that day. Those are the people and principles that deserve our honor and support, not the perpetrators of the violence.
We must demand accountability from those in power who would rather play politics than uphold justice. And we must recommit ourselves as a nation to the idea that no one has the right to attack our democracy, and anyone who tries will face consequences, not a payoff.
The path we are on now is dangerous, but it’s not too late to change course. Let this outrageous settlement be a wake-up call to all Americans. It’s time to stand up for the rule of law, demand leadership that puts country over self-interest, and ensure that our precious democracy remains intact for future generations.
The soul of our nation depends on it.
Mitch Jackson, Esq. | links
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This is disgusting. So is the Babbit family's (first) lawyer who has defended a lot of J6ers and is now looking for his cut of the settlement... https://ktb2025.substack.com/p/homicidal-and-sides-taking-instincts