Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Daniel Chaitin.
The mother of Ashli Babbitt got arrested at a demonstration near the Capitol exactly two years after her daughter was fatally shot during the Capitol riot.
Video footage posted to Twitter showed Babbitt's mother, Micki Witthoeft, being escorted by officers into a Capitol Police vehicle on Friday afternoon.
Capitol Police released a statement that said Witthoeft, 58, was arrested on a charge of blocking and obstructing roadways, as well as for allegedly violating a regulation to obey an order.
Capitol Police said there were a group of demonstrators
"illegally blocking traffic on Independence Avenue, SW, near First Street, SW."
The statement added:
"The group did not have a permit to demonstrate on Capitol Grounds. Officers established a clear police line to prevent the group from moving further west on Independence Avenue, SW. 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 out of the road. 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 statement concluded:
"As is typical for this charge, Ms. Witthoeft was processed and released this afternoon after being given a citation to appear in court at a later date."
The demonstration near the Capitol took place on the two-year anniversary of the Capitol riot. Witthoeft was part of a group demonstrating near the Supreme Court in support of people arrested and charged in connection to the riot, per Getty. Witthoeft later told Newsmax that she was arrested while seeking to lay down flowers for the four people in the January 6 crowd, including her daughter, who died two years ago.
Democrats marked the anniversary of the riot with President Joe Biden awarding medals to a dozen individuals, including police officers who were injured defending the Capitol that day.
Babbitt, an Air Force veteran in her mid-30s who was a supporter of former President Donald Trump, entered the U.S. Capitol with a throng of people on January 6, 2021, disrupting lawmakers meeting to certify Biden's 2020 election victory.
A Capitol Police officer shot Babbitt as she tried to make her way through a broken window of a barricaded door near the Speaker's Lobby, as shown in video clips. She later died at a nearby hospital from her injuries, according to authorities.
After the Justice Department refused to pursue criminal charges and the Capitol Police declined to take disciplinary action in connection to the incident, Lt. Michael Byrd revealed himself as the officer who shot Babbitt.
"I know that day I saved countless lives," Byrd said in an interview with NBC News.
"I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that's my job." He told the news outlet that pulling the trigger was a
"last resort."
Though Babbitt's family in San Diego, California, were said to sue the Capitol Police for $10 million, CBS 8 reported in June 2022 that they had yet to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Babbitt's widower, Aaron Babbitt, told TMZ early last year he believed Ashli Babbitt would not have entered the Capitol if he flew to Washington, D.C., with her.
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