Ashli Babbitt was shot while rioting inside the Capitol building
The woman who was shot dead by police as she stormed the US Capitol building has been named as Ashli Babbitt, a Trump Supporter from San Diego, California who had served in the United States Air Force.
Ms Babbitt, 35, who undertook four tours of duty in 14-years according to her husband Aaron, was shot in the chest by a plain clothes officer after trying to enter the House chamber, said Washington Police Chief Robert Contee.
During chaotic scenes inside the Capitol building, Ms Babbitt was part of an angry mob which ran amok, attempting to derail the certification of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States.
"I really don’t know why she decided to do this," her mother-in law told Fox News.
Witnesses say that she was shot while attempting to climb through a window and enter the congressional chambers.
Ashli Babbitt
Ms Babbitt, a small business owner who travelled to Washington without her husband, was shot just after 3pm and rushed to hospital where she later died.
A police investigation is now underway into the circumstances of her death.
Her brother-in-law, Justin Jackson, told NBC 7 he had been in contact with Washington police, but said they didn’t tell him exactly what had led to the shooting.
He said: "Ashli was both loyal as well as extremely passionate about what she believed in. She loved this country and felt honoured to have served in our Armed Forces. Please keep her family in your thoughts and respect their privacy during this time."
On her Twitter page, Ms Babbitt described herself as a veteran and a Libertarian, adding: “I love my dude, my dog and above all, my country.”
She had shared conspiracy theories pedalled by QAnon — a group who falsely believe that the US government is controlled by a "deep state" cabal of anti-Trump Satanist paedophiles.
"Nothing will stop us….they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light!", she wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
Read more: What happened when Trump supporters stormed Washington?
Nothing will stop us….they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light!
— CommonAshSense (@Ashli_Babbitt) January 5, 2021
Washington police chief Robert Contee said three other people, one woman and two men, had died Wednesday in the area around the Capitol, but did not link those deaths to the violence.
Each of the three "appeared to have suffered medical emergencies which resulted in their deaths," Contee told reporters.
Contee said 52 people had been arrested Wednesday, 26 of them on the grounds of the Capitol, for curfew violations, unlawful entry and weapons charges.
Fourteen police were injured, one seriously after he was pulled into a crowd and assaulted, he added.
He also said two pipe bombs had been discovered near the Capitol, one at democratic Party offices and the other at Republican Party offices.
In addition, a vehicle was discovered parked on Capitol grounds with a long gun and Molotov cocktails inside.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an extension of the city’s state of emergency for 15 days through the January 20 presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, amid fears Trump and his supporters will continue to threaten violence over their unsupported claims that Biden’s election win was fraudulent.
"I know that I speak for all of us when I say that we saw an unprecedented attack on our American democracy incited by the United States president, and he must be held accountable," Bowser said.
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