The Trump administration intends to settle a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit filed by Aaron Babbitt, the husband of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed while storming the Capitol during the January 6 riot.
During a hearing on Friday in Washington, D.C., Aaron Babbitt’s lawyer and attorneys with the Justice Department’s Civil Division confirmed that they had reached an agreement in principle to settle the case over Ashli Babbitt’s death, according to Washington, D.C.-based CBS affiliate WUSA.
According to the report, Robert Sticht, an attorney for the conservative activist group Judicial Watch who represents Aaron Babbitt, told the court that the two sides had reached a tentative agreement but were still negotiating some of the finer details of the settlement. According to the attorneys, nothing had been signed as of Friday, and no information about the agreement’s terms had been disclosed.
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes called the emergency hearing on Friday after Aaron Babbitt’s former attorney, Terrell N. Roberts, stated that he had been notified of a possible settlement in the case and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, claiming he is entitled to 25% of whatever amount is paid to the plaintiff.
In the filing, Roberts stated that on January 18, 2021, Aaron Babbitt signed a written retainer to have Roberts represent him in “all civil claims” arising from his wife’s death for a 40% contingency fee on any “money paid by way of settlement.” Roberts stated that he provided “substantial legal services” to Aaron Babbitt before terminating his representation “for cause” on February 25, 2022.
Roberts claimed that despite having “cooperated” in Aaron Babbitt’s “transition to another attorney,” he was still entitled to a portion of any settlement paid to Babbitt’s husband and estate.
Roberts stated that he filed the motion after being notified of a potential settlement by a journalist from a “national mainstream news outlet” who contacted him for comment after learning about it from “a very reliable source.”
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Babbitt and other supporters of then-President Donald Trump raided the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump continued to amplify the baseless claim that he won the 2020 presidential election, claiming that victory was stolen from him.
“Ashli traveled alone from San Diego to Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021, to attend the Women for America First (aka Save America) rally the next morning at the Ellipse, located just south of the White House,” according to the complaint.
“President Trump and other prominent conservatives spoke at the rally. Ashli loved her country and wanted to show her support for President Trump’s America First policies, as well as see and hear him speak live while he was still in office.
Ashli did not travel to Washington as part of a group or for any illegal or nefarious purposes. She was there to exercise what she saw as her God-given, American liberties and freedoms.”
As seen on video, members of the crowd smashed through the barricaded doors.
“He’s got a gun!” a man is heard saying in video footage of the incident.
As Babbitt attempted to climb through one of the broken glass panels, a Capitol officer opened fire, hitting her in the shoulder. She fell backward and later died of her injuries.
Prior to Trump taking office in January, the Biden administration’s Justice Department had made no plans to settle the case with Babbitt’s husband.