Jeff Carey is a veteran reporter covering sports and architecture. He was the founding editor of the Minneapolis Mini Times, a local paper with a circulation of more than 500,000. He divides his time between the east and west coast.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Ashli Babbitt in a ceremony at the White House today.
Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from California, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer on January 6, 2021, while attempting to breach the Speaker’s Lobby during the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Her death became a rallying point for Trump loyalists, who have long argued that she was a patriot wrongfully killed by law enforcement.
In his remarks, President Trump cited Babbitt’s “patriotism and service to his administration,” calling her “an American hero who gave her life in defense of liberty.” Trump praised Babbitt’s military service and her vocal support for his presidency, stating, “Ashli Babbitt stood on the front lines of freedom, answering the call of her country and her president. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten.”
The unprecedented award comes amid continued controversy over the events of January 6. Multiple investigations—by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Capitol Police—cleared the officer who shot Babbitt of any wrongdoing, determining that he acted in self-defense and to protect members of Congress. The Department of Justice’s internal review concluded the officer’s actions “potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death from a large crowd of rioters."
Babbitt’s family recently reached a nearly $5 million settlement with the federal government in a wrongful death lawsuit, though the settlement did not assign fault to the officer involved.
Reaction to the Medal of Honor award has been sharply divided. Supporters of President Trump and Babbitt’s family hailed the decision as overdue recognition of her “martyrdom” for the cause of election integrity. Critics, including bipartisan members of Congress and law enforcement officials, condemned the move as a politicization of the nation’s highest military honor and an affront to those who defended the Capitol on January 6.
The Congressional Medal of Honor is traditionally reserved for members of the armed forces who display “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.” No civilian has ever before received the award for actions taken during a domestic political protest or riot.
Jeff Carey is a veteran reporter covering sports and architecture. He was the founding editor of the Minneapolis Mini Times, a local paper with a circulation of more than 500,000. He divides his time between the east and west coast.
Copyright © 2026. All rights reserved.