The United States Air Force is reversing a Biden-era decision and will now heed the request of Ashli Babbitt’s family, who called for a military funeral with honors for the Air Force veteran, according to a letter released by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal organization, on Wednesday. Babbitt was part of the group that broke into the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and was subsequently shot and killed by law enforcement.
Letter to Babbitt’s family
The letter from Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier states that the military branch will allow for a military funeral service that includes a special ceremony and presentation of the American flag.
Additionally, Lohmeier invited Babitt’s mother and her husband to meet him at the Pentagon so that he can offer his condolences in person.
“I understand that the family’s initial request was denied by Air Force leadership in a letter dated February 9, 2021,” Lohmeier wrote in the Aug. 15 letter. “However, after reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
Babbitt was shot and killed by authorities as she tried to climb through barricaded doors in the Capitol.
Initial denial
Following the Capitol riots, Air Force Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, a spokesperson for the military branch under former President Joe Biden, denied Babbitt’s family’s request for a funeral with military honors, citing “the circumstances preceding her death.”
“As a result, I have determined that the military funeral honors would bring discredit upon the Air Force,” Kelly wrote in a letter.
Babbitt’s family’s reaction
Babbitt’s family responded to the amended decision in a statement through Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
“Ashli Babbitt’s family is grateful to President [Donald] Trump, Secretary [Pete] Hegseth and Under Secretary Lohmeier for reversing the Biden Defense Department’s cruel decision to deny Ashli funeral honors as a distinguished veteran of the Air Force,” Fitton said.
The granted request comes after the government agreed to pay Babbitt’s family nearly $5 million as part of a settlement, and Trump pardoned nearly all people who participated in the Capitol riots.
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Author: Cassandra Buchman
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