Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd, who shot Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt inside the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, has now been promoted to the position of captain.
Byrd, who has been in the position of lieutenant, shot Babbitt as she was trying to make her way into the Speaker’s Lobby of Congress through a window on Jan. 6, 2021. After the fact, Byrd did not face any charges.
Babbitt, 35, was a supporter of former President Donald Trump as well as an Air Force veteran. She died after being taken to Washington Hospital Center.
The officer is now set to be promoted to Captain after the Jan. 6 incident, according to Roll Call.
A slate of other promotions among the Capitol Police are also set to happen in the coming weeks.
Byrd previously told NBC that Babbitt, who was unarmed at the time, was an “imminent threat and danger to the members of Congress” and that he just wanted “the truth to be told.”
He recounted in the interview that he felt very afraid when he was in the chamber with the protestors gathering in the Capitol building. He said that there were “reports of shots fired through the House main door onto the floor of the chamber.”
Those reports later turned out to be false and he told NBC that his ignorance of whether she was armed “did not” alter his decision to shoot. He also stated that he had “saved countless lives.”
After Byrd’s conduct was internally investigated by the Capitol Police, it was determined that his “conduct was lawful and within Department policy, which says an officer may use deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes that action is in the defense of human life, including the officer’s own life, or in the defense of any person in immediate danger of serious physical injury.”
The investigation goes on to say that his actions may have “potentially saved Members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters.”
Later, internal documents from the Capitol Police showed that there was “no good reason” to shoot Babbitt.