The Woman Shot by Capitol Police Was a US Vet—and a QAnon Supporter

The woman who was shot and killed by Capitol Police during the attack on the Capitol building Wednesday has been identified as Ashli Babbitt, an avowed QAnon supporter.

Babbitt, 35, had traveled from her home in San Diego, her former husband Timothy McEntee told the Washington Post. Babbitt was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served four tours of duty during her 14-year career in the military, her husband Aaron Babbitt told local San Diego station KUSI TV, adding that she was an avid supporter of President Donald Trump. 

Police have yet to confirm the identity of the woman shot dead on Wednesday or how she was shot, but D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III did confirm that she was shot by Capitol Police while trying to break into the Capitol building.

Video footage shared on social media and reviewed by VICE News shows Trump supporters storming the Capitol and smashing windows before Babbitt is seen attempting to clamber through one of the windows. 

Seconds later a gunshot is heard, and Babbitt, who had a Trump flag wrapped around her waist, is seen falling to the ground.

Emergency services administered CPR at the scene before taking Babbitt to hospital by ambulance, where she died later Wednesday evening. 

Babbitt had served with the Air Force in Afghanistan and Iraq, McEntee said, adding that the pair met while in the military and were married for 14 years before separating in 2019.

“I really don’t know why she decided to do this,” Babbitt’s current mother-in-law told Fox 5 DC.

But a cursory glance at Babbitt’s Twitter feed gives a clear indication of why she was compelled to fly across the country to attend the protests on Wednesday. 

Babbitt’s feed is filled with QAnon-linked hashtags and phrases, and she has shared quotes directly from the anonymous leader of the movement known as Q, as well as some of the biggest influencers within the movement.

In September Babbitt tweeted a picture from a Trump boat parade in San Diego wearing a shirt that read: “We are Q.” The post included the hashtag “#WWG1WGA,” which stands for the QAnon mantra “Where we go one, we go all.”

QAnon supporters were central to the storming of the Capitol, a mob scene incited after Trump and son Don Jr. whipped up the crowd of thousands with claims that the election was stolen. One of the first people to break into the building was wearing a Q shirt. For months, QAnon influencers have spread baseless conspiracy theories about election fraud, conspiracies that have made their way all the way to the Oval Office.

And Trump in recent weeks, as he has tried to hold onto power in the wake of his election loss, has surrounded himself with many leading QAnon figures, including disgraced former national security advisor Michael Flynn and lawyers Sidney Powell and L. Lin Wood.

One of Babbitt’s final posts before she died was a retweet of a post by Wood calling for Vice President Mike Pence to be charged with treason — though the post is currently unavailable because Wood’s account was suspended.

In the final message she posted to Twitter, Babbitt responded to another Trump supporter who was complaining about flights to D.C. being canceled.

“Nothing will stop us,” Babbitt responded. “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!”