The mother of Ashli Babbitt, the Capitol rioter killed on 6 January 2021 while trying to disrupt a joint meeting of Congress, was arrested in Washington DC while protesting on the second anniversary of the attack, Capitol police confirmed.
According to a Capitol Police news release, Micki Witthoeft, Ms Babbitt’s mother, was arrested on Friday when a group of protesters who did not have a permit to demonstrate on the Capitol grounds attempted to cross a street and enter the grounds.
"The officers and officials told the group to get out of the road or the group would be arrested. The sidewalk was open. A woman in the group was given multiple warnings to get our of the road," the press release says. "Instead of getting out of the road, the woman refused to leave, turned around with her hands behind her back, and asked to be arrested."
The woman is Ms Witthoeft, according to the release.
Ms Witthoeft was arrested on two infractions, disobeying an order and blocking or obstructing a roadway, according to police.
The release says Ms Witthoeft was processed and released with a citation to appear in court for her alleged infractions.
Ms Babbitt was killed two years ago during the Capitol riot, where she was seen wearing a Donald Trump flag as a cape. She was attempting to crawl through a broken window in the interior of the Capitol where lawmakers were still present in the Speaker’s Lobby. Capitol police officers warned the rioters to stay out, but they continued to push inside.
While she was midway through a window a Capitol police officer fired a shot at her, striking her in the neck near her shoulder. She later died at a Washington DC hospital from her wound.
Ms Babbitt became something of a martyr for the far-right and Trump-aligned election deniers, with many calling for the release of the name of the officer who shot and killed her.
Mr Trump was among those who demanded to know who shot Ms Babbitt.
“Who was the person that shot an innocent, wonderful, incredible woman, a military woman?” Mr Trump asked during an interview with Fox Business in July 2021.
The US Department of Justice investigated the incident and ruled it a “tragic loss of life” in April 2021. However, the department ultimately ruled that the officer fired in self-defence and in defence of the lawmakers and staff who were still be evacuated from the chamber the rioters had surrounded.
