A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt against the U.S. government must go to trial by the end of 2025, a judge ruled Friday.
In a brief order, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said the multi-year pretrial hearing schedule proposed by Babbitt's family and the government in their $30 million lawsuit was “unacceptable.”
“The parties have been instructed to meet and negotiate a date for the trial to take place no later than December 2025,” Reyes said.
Babbitt was shot and killed by police as he tried to scale a barricaded door near the House chamber during the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol. The shooting was captured on video, and since then, Babbitt has been portrayed by those on the right as a martyr, unjustly killed.
of Wrongful Death and Assault Lawsuits The lawsuit was filed in January by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch on behalf of Babbitt's estate and her husband, Aaron Babbitt.
In a court filing Friday, lawyers for Babbitt's family and the government jointly proposed a timeline for pretrial hearings that would extend into 2027 before a trial could begin around October or November of this year.
of Proposal by the Parties They proposed that the discovery process would take eight months, beginning in January 2026 and ending by Sept. 21 of that year. While the two sides agreed on the timeline, they disagreed on how many discovery requests and depositions should be allowed as part of the process.
Babbitt's lawyers have recommended that, given the chaos at the scene of Babbitt's murder and the subsequent investigation, 100 interrogations, 50 depositions and unlimited document and confession requests be allowed.
They argued that numerous rioters and police officers, as well as congressional members and staff, were at the scene where Babbitt was shot, and that “numerous other witnesses” were involved in the response afterward, from emergency responders to officials who investigated the shooting.
“Plaintiffs' requested enhancements are also intended to prevent the use of discovery restrictions to conceal facts and avoid or limit the government's liability for its most shameful event on January 6th – the police shooting death of Ashli Babbitt,” Babbitt's lawyers wrote in the complaint.
The government instead proposed that 50 requests for admissions and 25 requests for document production should be granted, as well as 25 interrogatories and 25 depositions.
“The above limitations reflect defendants' view that this case focuses on a limited, time-limited event: the shooting of Ashli Babbitt,” the government wrote.
“The document disclosure restrictions requested by Defendants are also intended to prevent them from using this litigation to launch a thorough investigation of January 6 that goes far beyond the scope of permissible disclosures and the allegations presented in this litigation,” the proposal states.
Babbitt was one of four people killed in the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol as the certification of the 2020 presidential election was underway; two others died of natural causes and the third died of an accidental overdose. According to the New York Times:Several police officers were also killed in the days and weeks following the riots.
The Babbitt family's lawsuit alleges that Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd was negligent when he shot Babbitt that day, did not identify himself as a police officer, and did not give “any warning or instruction” before opening fire. The lawsuit also claims that Babbitt “posed no threat to the safety of anyone.”
“The facts speak for themselves,” the lawsuit states. “Ashley was ambushed and shot by Lt. Byrd.”
Anne Internal investigation The U.S. Capitol Police investigation determined that Byrd's actions were lawful and within department policy and that he would not face disciplinary action. It also determined that Byrd's actions “may have saved members or staff from serious injury or possible death.”
