Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Sure’ She Would Have Been Friends With Slain Capitol Rioter Ashli Babbitt

Topline

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Wednesday said she believes she would have been friends with Ashli Babbitt – fast becoming a hero figure among far-right Trump supporters – who was shot and killed while attempting to breach the House chamber during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

WELLINGTON, OHIO – JUNE 26: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attends a rally with former President Donald … [+] Trump at the Lorain County Fairgrounds on June 26, 2021 in Wellington, Ohio. This was Trump’s first rally since leaving office. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

During a Newsmax interview, anchor Greg Kelly told Greene “somehow you two, I think, would have been friends,” and Greene replied, “I’m sure we would have.”

Greene referred to Babbitt, who was shot by an unidentified law enforcement officer while climbing through a broken window in the Speaker’s lobby, as a “very passionate patriot.”

Greene said Babbitt also seemed like a “very proud Trump supporter” – adding, “I really appreciate that” – and thanked Babbitt for her Air Force service.

Greene said she met with Babbitt’s attorney and echoed calls from fellow right-wing lawmakers, and former President Donald Trump, to unmask the officer who shot her.

Key Background

Babbitt has become lionized among far-right activists and GOP lawmakers trying to recast the rioters as the true victims of the Jan. 6 attack. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has been particularly vocal about Babbitt, even sending out a statement on the 6-month anniversary of the attack declaring, “I will not stop my quest to find answers to who killed Ashli Babbitt.”

Chief Critic

“The investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber,” the Justice Department said in a statement in April announcing its decision not to charge or identify the officer who shot Babbitt.

Tangent

Greene, who had her committee assignments stripped in February, said she is “more than willing” to serve on a newly-created select committee to investigate the attack, making her one of the few Republicans openly expressing interest. She suggested she would use the perch to elevate questions about Babbitt’s death.

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