The police lieutenant who killed the rioter of the Capitol Ashli ​​Babbitt on January 6 finally identified

For more than seven months, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot dead Ashli ​​Babbitt, an unarmed protester climbing through a broken window in a hallway on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, has remained anonymous.

Although his name is known to the United States Capitol Police, Congressional staff and Federal Investigations, no one is disclosing it. The secrecy has fueled months of speculation online.

Babbitt’s family alleged a cover-up.

“The US Congress wants to protect this man. He has friends in high places and they want to protect him,” said Maryland lawyer Terry Roberts, who represents the family. “And they did a good job.… I don’t think this is a proud moment for the Capitol Police or the US Congress.”

Roberts told Zenger on Wednesday night that the gunman was “Lieutenant Michael Leroy Byrd”.

Byrd’s attorney, Mark Schamel, did not dispute the positive identification. This is in addition to information from other sources who have told Zenger in recent months that Byrd was the January 6 shooter. None of them would say it officially.

Byrd is a controversial figure with a record of gun mishandling, including leaving a loaded pistol in a bathroom at the Congressional Visitor Center. Roberts said Byrd’s decision to fire his gun on Jan.6 indicated his unfitness for duty.

“If I were a member of Congress, I would be very worried that he had a gun around me,” he said.

Typically, police officers who shoot civilians are publicly appointed. But the January 6 riot, and the riots that broke out after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis policeman, divided the country along political, class and racial lines, making officials cautious about revealing the name. of a black policeman who killed a white protester.

Roberts said race was “clearly a factor” in the decision to shield Byrd from public scrutiny.

“This is something that needs to be taken into account, because it’s just a clear trend in the United States,” he said. “White cop kills black guy? Their name’s there today. It’s all public. And look, a police officer is a public official. There shouldn’t be an exception for that.”

U.S. Capitol Police officials, police union officials and government officials have repeatedly claimed that disclosing the officer’s identity would put his and his wife’s life in danger and would subject them to racial slurs. Lieutenant Byrd’s family roots are in Jamaica, according to one of his neighbors.

After not naming Byrd publicly for months, Babbitt’s attorney said he became skeptical when he learned on Wednesday that the officer was due to appear with Lester Holt on an NBC News show the next day and that NBC had already recorded the interview.

“They said his [Byrd’s] life would be in danger if it did manifest, and we now know that can’t be true because it manifests on its own, “Roberts said.” So, you know, he used that as an excuse. “

Roberts, the attorney for the Babbitt family, is considering a wrongful death trial by naming both Byrd and the United States Capitol Police as defendants. The lawsuit has yet to be filed due to a federal law requiring a one-month notice period before such actions can be brought against government agencies.

The family is funding their legal action. The effort raised more than $ 76,000 of their goal of $ 500,000.

Byrd was not justified in killing Babbitt, Roberts said, as he had no reason to believe that the unarmed Babbitt posed a threat to himself or to others. Byrd fired the only shot at the Capitol on January 6, and Babbitt was the only person shot dead that day.

Byrd’s own attorney, Mark Schamel, has insisted on his client’s anonymity since April, loud and clear, and still citing the officer’s physical safety. He parried Zenger’s questions about his anonymous client for nearly four months.

“Running under the name of a hero who needs round the clock protection is disgusting and indefensible,” Schamel said on July 9 in a text message. He was responding directly to a question that mentioned Byrd by name.

“Was Byrd’s decision to give a public interview an indication that fears for his safety were unfounded?” Zenger asked him during a phone call Wednesday night.

“Not in any way, form or form,” Schamel replied, before declining further comment. A few minutes later, he texted, “I can confirm that my client is a hero. Representatives and… there is no basis in law or in fact for a civil case against him or the Capitol Police. “

“If the violent insurrectionist who died [Babbitt] had survived “, writes Schamel,” she would have been charged with a felony and would have been on her way to prison with her fellow insurgents “.

Most of the hundreds of January 6 protesters who have been formally charged are charged with trespassing, vandalism or similar minor offenses. Convictions for these offenses rarely result in prison terms.

Byrd shot Babbitt, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the Gulf War, as she attempted to break through broken glass and illegally enter the President’s Lobby, an area adjacent to the ground of the House. Amateur video shows Byrd’s arm outstretched and still before firing a single shot through the door at the 35-year-old.

It appears from footage that Babbitt, carrying a backpack, may not have seen Byrd until a bullet from his semi-automatic weapon struck him. The upcoming civil lawsuit could depend on whether or not Byrd warned Babbitt before firing. The publicly available videos do not include any sound of Byrd issuing a warning or announcing that he has drawn his gun.

Little is known about Byrd, 53. The US Department of Justice and the Capitol Police have been quiet about him, although both agencies have issued scantily detailed press releases announcing his acquittal. Many who live near the longtime Capitol Hill police officer in Brandywine, Md., Crouched down, not answering their doorbell when reporters from Zenger traveled to ask questions about their neighbor sympathetic who suddenly became a recluse after the shooting.

A January 6 press photograph of the upstairs of the house, where Byrd was in charge of security, shows him with a pistol in his right hand. In the photo, Byrd rushes to help other officers and special agents as they defend a barricaded door against angry protesters – the same door many presidents have gone through to address joint sessions of Congress.

The photo, captured by Bloomberg News and distributed by Getty Images, shows a distinctive bracelet – a pattern of white pearls interrupted by solitary black pearls – worn on the wrist of his shooting hand. This same bracelet can be seen in amateur video, on Byrd’s right hand, as he opened fire.

Byrd’s identity has surfaced on occasion, in most cases on Twitter where supporters have spoken out about his ability to distract public attention after killing a civilian in the line of duty. A July report from Real Clear Investigations briefly noted an unsupervised moment during a House hearing on February 25 when Timothy Blodgett, the House’s acting sergeant-at-arms, let Byrd’s name slip away.

Explaining why his staff did not participate in radio traffic with the United States Capitol Police during crisis incidents, Blodgett told lawmakers: “We communicate with our staff by cell phone, SMS. We were in touch. The situation you discussed where Constable Byrd at the gate was, when Mrs. Babbitt was shot, it was our Sergeant-at-Arms who assisted her at that site.

C-SPAN’s transcript of this House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing omits Byrd’s name. A transcript available from CQ Transcripts, a unit of the CQ-Roll Call news agency, formerly known as the Congressional Quarterly, includes it.

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.