NEW: US Air Force To Provide Military Funeral Honors For Ashli Babbitt

The U.S. Air Force announced that Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer without any warning during the January 6 Capitol protests in 2021, will be provided with full military funeral honors.

Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier informed the Babbitt family of the decision in a letter dated August 15, which was later shared on social media. Lohmeir informed the family that while the request for full military honors was denied under the Biden Administration, “I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”

“[A]fter 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,” Lohmeier said. “Additionally, I would like to invite you and your family to meet me at the Pentagon to personally offer my condolences.”

A Department of the Air Force spokesperson confirmed the letter’s authenticity when asked for comment by CNN. “After reviewing the circumstances of [Senior Airman] Babbitt’s death, the Air Force has offered Military Funeral Honors to [Senior Airman] Babbitt’s family,” the spokesperson said.

While details surrounding the planned service remain unclear, full military honors typically include a uniformed detail at the funeral, the playing of Taps, and the folding and presentation of a US flag.

Babbitt was shot and killed by US Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd as she attempted to crawl through a broken window in the bowels of the Capitol Building. Byrd provided no verbal warning before firing a single shot at Babbitt, which struck her in the neck. Additional Capitol Police officers in riot gear were just behind Babbitt and were about to have the area secured when she was shot.

Byrd also had a lengthy disciplinary record, which consisted of a 2004 incident in which he fired his weapon at a stolen car in a residential neighborhood, a “conduct of unbecoming” complaint with racial undertones, stemming from a 2005 football game, and failure to pass a background check when purchasing a shotgun for home defense not long after the Babbitt killing.

The Capitol Police officer also received a 33-day suspension for leaving his loaded service weapon unattended in a Capitol Hill bathroom in 2019.

Despite all this, Byrd was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Biden Administration after a short probe that critics say was rushed and lacked standard processes. He was later given a primetime interview by NBC News and was hailed as a hero by prominent Democrats.

The Babbitt Family did finally receive some justice earlier this year when the Trump Administration agreed to pay nearly $5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit settlement.

Babbitt spent four years on active duty from 2004 to 2008 and served in the Air Force Reserves from 2008 to 2010, followed by  the Air National Guard from 2010 to 2016. She deployed to Afghanistan in 2005, Iraq in 2006, and the United Arab Emirates in 2012 and 2014.