00:00Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego tried to strip military funeral honors from Air Force veteran Ashley Babbitt for her participation in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol building.
00:11Babbitt has become a controversial figure since her death.
00:14Republicans say she was an unarmed protester killed by police, while Democrats say she was attacking the heart of democracy.
00:21She is a traitor, and we all know it.
00:24As a warning, in a moment we're going to show the video of her shooting, which some viewers could find disturbing.
00:30Babbitt was shot by a U.S. Capitol police officer as she climbed through a shattered door next to the House floor.
00:40The door window was broken by rioters using helmets, flagpoles, and their bare hands.
00:45She didn't die protecting our country. She died trying to tear it down.
00:50The Air Force denied military funeral honors to Babbitt during the Biden administration, but that decision was overturned during the Trump administration.
00:58According to the Department of Defense, military secretaries can deny veteran military honors if they deem appropriate.
01:04Gallego is a retired Marine and Iraq War veteran and said Babbitt does not deserve the same honor as those who died in combat.
01:11I saw Marines dying, holding the lines so others may have a chance to live.
01:17And I buried brothers, brothers who gave everything to protect others, to protect this nation.
01:24To pretend that Ashley Babbitt deserves the same honors is not only a betrayal of their service, of the oath that they had,
01:32but it's also a betrayal of all the oaths that we have all sworn.
01:35Gallego's resolution would have stripped Babbitt of military honors under Section 985 of Title 10 of United States Code,
01:42which makes those who commit capital crimes ineligible for military funerals.
01:46It also disqualifies veterans and active duty members if the circumstances surrounding their death would, quote,
01:52bring discredit upon the person's service.
01:55Unfortunately, Ashley's not with us any longer, so this petty resolution would serve no other purpose than to punish the Babbitt family.
02:03It's disgraceful and it's un-American.
02:06Senator Tuberville objected to the resolution, and that was enough to sink it because Gallego was trying to approve it using unanimous consent.
02:14Tuberville asked why other veterans who have been involved in controversial events have not also had their military honors stripped from them.
02:22I asked my colleague, where are the resolutions calling to revoke the honors from veterans involved in the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots after George Floyd?
02:33How about the ones that participated in a six-month siege of a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon?
02:41Or the ones who attacked the White House in May of 2020, injuring more than 60 Secret Service agents?
02:48Reports indicate Babbitt was cremated in 2021.
02:51Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lemire invited the Babbitt family to the Pentagon so he could personally give them his condolences.
02:58The Trump administration settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family for $5 million.
03:04The officer who shot Babbitt was cleared of wrongdoing.
03:07I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News.
03:08For more reporting straight from our nation's capital, download the SAN app.
Be the first to comment