Trump administration discussing paying $5 million to family of Jan. 6 rioter

The Justice Department is discussing giving the relatives of Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran killed by police during the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, about $5 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit they brought against the government last year, according to two people familiar with the matter.

But the people cautioned that the negotiations, which have largely taken place since President Donald Trump took office, have not yet been finalized.

A tentative settlement agreement was announced at a hearing this month in U.S. District Court in Washington, but lawyers for the Justice Department and Babbitt’s family did not mention an amount at the time. In its initial complaint, filed in January 2024 during the Biden administration, the family had asked for $30 million.

Still, the payment of about $5 million, if approved, would represent an extraordinary concession by the Justice Department, which prosecuted nearly 1,600 people in connection with the riot. It would also serve as another symbol of the vocal support that Trump has long shown to those who took part in the Capitol attack, joining efforts like the sprawling grants of clemency he gave the rioters on his first day back in office.

Babbitt, a fervent Trump supporter and believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer, Michael Byrd, while she was in a crowd that was trying to break into an area outside the House floor known as the Speaker’s Lobby. After a three-month investigation, prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against Byrd.

Babbitt’s family may not be the only people connected to Jan. 6 to eventually receive money.

In March, Trump said that he was considering establishing a compensation fund for pardoned rioters during an interview with the conservative television station Newsmax.

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