BLABBERMOUTH.NET
THE OFFSPRING guitarist
Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman has blasted
Ashli Babbitt, the woman who was fatally shot while invading the U.S. Capitol on January 6, calling her a "dead terrorist."
The 35-year-old former Air Force veteran was killed by Capitol Police Lt.
Michael Byrd while she was attempting to climb through a broken doorway window and into the Speaker's Lobby during the riots at the Capitol. After
Babbitt ignored law enforcement pleas, a police officer fired a single shot, and the rioter later died at a local hospital.
Earlier today,
Noodles tweeted: "Aside from herself, no one is more responsible for the death of
Ashli Babbit than
Donald Trump. His lies led her to be at the front of a violent attack on our Capitol. She's not a martyr, she's a dead terrorist, &
Trump recruited her. #TrumpTraitors".
Over the weekend,
Trump sent a pre-recorded commemoration video to
Babbitt's family on her birthday, saying, "We must all demand justice," and calling on the Department Of Justice to reopen its investigation after
Byrd was exonerated.
"It is my great honor to address each of you gathered today to cherish the memory of
Ashli Babbitt, a truly incredible person,"
Trump said in the video, which played at a ceremony for
Babbitt on Sunday in Freeport, Texas.
"On that horrible day of Jan. 6,
Ashli arrived at the United States Capitol. She was shot and tragically killed,"
Trump said. "Today would have been her birthday. Happy birthday,
Ashli."
A self-described libertarian and
QAnon follower,
Babbitt had written on January 5, "Nothing will stop us. They can try and try and try but the storm is here" — an apparent reference to the
QAnon perspective that
Trump was sent by God to exterminate Democrats and other political opponents — "and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours ... dark to light!"
In April, the Department Of Justice announced it would not be pursuing criminal charges against
Byrd over the shooting on
Babbitt, saying in a statement: "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."
Byrd later gave an interview to
NBC in which he said he "tried to wait as long as I could" before her fired at
Babbitt.
"I hoped and prayed no one tried to enter through those doors. But their failure to comply required me to take the appropriate action to save the lives of members of Congress and myself and my fellow officers," he added.
