Trump says he spoke to family of Ashli Babbitt and claims to know identity of officer who shot her

Former president Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he spoke with the mother and husband of Ashli Babbitt, whom police killed during the 6 January riot that, and said he knew the identity of the officer who fatally shot Ms Babbitt as she was trying to enter a restricted area of the Capitol.

Ms Babbit was killed by an officer during the insurrection led by Mr Trump’s supporters.

“We know who he is,” he said. “If that happened to the ‘other side,’ there would be riots all over America and yet, there are far more people represented by Ashli, who truly loved America, than there are on the other side. The Radical Left haters cannot be allowed to get away with this. There must be justice!”

The former president’s words come as Ms Babbitt’s family plans to seek a $10m wrongful death lawsuit against the officer who killed her. The lawyer for the family, Terry Roberts, said she was “ambushed” by the officer, who warned her to stay back.

Similarly, Ms Babbitt’s husband has called on the officer to be named.

Mr Trump has frequently begun invoking Ms Babbitt’s name. He has falsely said the officer who shot her was the head of security for “a top Democrat”, and said he regretted not lowering the flag half-staff for Ms Babbitt.