The woman who died on Wednesday after participating in the assault on the headquarters of Congress in Washington was killed by the Capitol police, announced the chief of police in the US capital.
An ex-military and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump was named Ashli Babbitt, and she lived in Southern California, US media reported citing her family.
The woman was part of a group of protesters in favor of the US president that stormed the Capitol, when legislators carried out the certification of the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the November presidential elections.
“Uniformed agents of the Capitol Police confronted them, and at one point, one of them used her service weapon” and shot her, the head of that body, Robert Contee, told a press conference. She was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
The official said that an investigation was opened for this “tragic event.”
Three other people, a woman and two men, died around the Capitol “due to different medical emergencies,” Contee said, without specifying whether they were protesters.
Police also made 52 arrests, including 26 inside the Capitol.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a 15-day extension of the state of emergency until Biden’s inauguration on January 20, amid fears of further violent actions by supporters of Trump, who refuses to acknowledge his defeat.
A military officer for 14 years, Ashli Babbitt made four deployments with the United States Air Force, according to the KUSI television network, which claims to have interviewed her husband.
Babbitt, who has not been officially identified by police, lived in the San Diego region of Southern California with her husband, who described her as a “great supporter of President Trump.” The man did not travel to Washington to participate in the protest.
“I really don’t know why she decided” to break into the Capitol, her mother-in-law said, quoted by a journalist from Fox 5.
On her Twitter account, Ashli Babbitt described herself as a “veteran” and a “libertarian.” She had recently retweeted numerous messages from people traveling to Washington to respond to Donald Trump’s call.
On Tuesday, Ashli Babbitt responded to someone complaining about the cancellation of her flight: “Nothing will stop us … They can try and try and try but the storm is here and it’s descending on [Washington] DC in less than 24 hours (…) From darkness to light “.
