ABC News May 2, 2025

DOJ reaches agreement in principle to settle lawsuit brought by family of Ashli Babbitt

WATCH: The death of Ashli Babbitt
By Alexander Mallin

The Department of Justice has reached an agreement in principle to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, a pro-Trump rioter who was shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The details of the proposed settlement were not made clear during a Friday hearing before federal Judge Ana Reyes, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Maryland MVA/Courtesy of the Calvert County Sheriff's Office via AP
This driver's license photo from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), provided to AP by the Calvert County Sheriff's Office, shows Ashli Babbitt.
MORE: DOJ reaches temporary agreement not to publicly release list of FBI agents who investigated Jan. 6

Babbitt's family members sued the government in January 2024 seeking $30 million for what they allege was her wrongful shooting death by Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd.

Byrd was cleared of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation into the actions leading up to his shooting of Babbitt as she tried to climb through a broken window that led to the House Speaker's Lobby, where several lawmakers and their staff were sheltering from rioters.

Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP
Micki Witthoeft, mother to Ashli Babbitt who died after being shot by police while participating in the January 6th Insurrection on the Capitol, attends a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Special Counsel report on origins of the FBI investigation into the Trump presidential campaign, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., June 21, 2023.

Babbitt's attorneys disclosed the agreement in principle was reached during the hearing, which was convened on an emergency basis after one of Babbitt's prior attorneys sought a preliminary injunction on Friday to ensure he received payment for his work on the case if a settlement was formally announced.

Robert Sticht, the lawyer for Babbitt's family, said he expected the family to sign the formal settlement agreement within the next three weeks.

John Minchillo/AP
Rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.
MORE: Special counsel probe uncovers new details about Trump's inaction on Jan. 6: Sources

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his solidarity with Babbitt's family and called for "justice" for what he has said was her "murder" at Byrd's hands -- in line with his broader vocal support for the pro-Trump rioters who attacked the Capitol to overturn his 2020 election loss.

In March, Trump said in an interview with Newsmax he wasn't aware of the lawsuit brought by Babbitt's family but promised he would "look into" it.

"I'm a big fan of Ashli Babbitt, OK, and Ashli Babbitt was a really good person who was a big MAGA fan, Trump fan, and she was innocently standing there -- they even say trying to sort of hold back the crowd," Trump said. "And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it's a disgrace. I'm going to look into that. I did not know that."

Up Next in News