Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) blocked attempts on Wednesday to stop Ashli Babbitt, a rioter from the January 6 events, from receiving military funeral honors.
Alabama Republicans were against Senator Reuben Gallego’s (D-Ariz.) request for unanimous consent on a resolution he presented the same day.
“This resolution is just a sad attempt to strip honors from veterans who served multiple times in the U.S. Air Force. Ashli Babbitt earned these funeral honors through her service,” Tuberville stated in the Senate.
He dismissed Gallego’s resolution as “petty,” claiming it served no purpose other than to punish Babbitt’s family.
“It’s a shame; I’m not American. If my colleagues don’t see this, the Constitution applies to everyone, even those you may disagree with,” he added.
“This is just political drama,” Tuberville remarked.
Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was shot by law enforcement on January 6, 2021, while trying to breach a barricaded door to the speaker’s lobby near the house chamber.
The shooting, captured on video, has led many to view Babbitt as a martyr for her beliefs, considering her death unjust.
About a month after the riot, under the Biden administration, Air Force representatives informed the family that they would not receive military honors “due to the circumstances preceding her death.”
However, the Air Force, under President Trump, reversed that decision last month and offered Babbitt’s family military funeral honors.
Gallego, who was present at the Capitol during the 2021 attack, recalled seeing Babbitt force her way into the speaker’s lobby, ignoring commands to stop before she was shot.
“She didn’t die protecting our country; she died trying to destroy it. Military honors are sacred, reserved for those who have genuinely pledged to support and defend the Constitution and rule of law,” he stated.
“Even after our service ends, we’re expected to uphold those oaths. If you betray your oath and violate the law, then you lose your honor,” he continued. “Ashley Babbitt knew what she was doing when she stormed the Capitol. She knew it was wrong. She isn’t a martyr; she’s a traitor.”
Gallego also emphasized that the Capitol attack, armed and unlawful, was a blatant breach of the law and the oath taken by veterans.
“If we equate the January 6 rebellion with genuine sacrifice, we risk devaluing the lives of service members who fought and died for our freedoms,” he added. “We imply that trying to harm fellow Americans in the Capitol is the same as sacrificing on the battlefield in defense of our nation. This erodes trust in the military and misrepresents January 6 as anything other than an act of rebellion.”
