The Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol has been formally exonerated after an internal probe, says a police force memo obtained by NBC News.
The officer's name has yet to be released. What is known is that that officer fired on Babbitt as she and other rioters tried to force their way into the Capitol and disrupt the congressional certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory over Donald Trump.
As NBC News reports, video showed Babbitt in front of a crowd of rioters trying to get through a door leading to where lawmakers were being evacuated. This unfolded on the House side of the building.
The Justice Department said earlier this year it wouldn't charge the officer.
In recent days, Trump has aligned himself with Babbitt and her family, urging justice in her shooting death.
"I spoke to the wonderful mother and devoted husband of Ashli Babbitt, who was murdered at the hands of someone who should never have pulled the trigger of his gun," Trump said in a statement earlier this month.
"We know who he is. 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!"
Democrats have characterized those who breached the Capitol as intent on damaging democracy and obstructing the peaceful transfer of power. In recent House panel hearings on the events of Jan. 6, they emphasized the heroic efforts of Capitol police to defend lawmakers and safeguard the democratic process.