Gallego has attacked the Department of Defense (DOD) for agreeing to provide Babbitt with an honorary military funeral and now hopes to pass legislation that would bar the funeral from being carried out.
Gallego said his bill “comes from a sense of patriotism, you know, as someone who served this country, as someone who unfortunately buried a lot of Marines with full military honors.”
“The idea that they’re giving this to a person who actively tried to overthrow the government, who was violent in nature, who knowingly was entering a restrictive zone while we were trying to conduct the safe passage of democracy, and the idea that they’re just going to give this without a fight, it’s just not going to happen,” he added.
“I’m gonna put people on the record to make sure that we know who stood with your traitor, Ashli Babbitt,” Gallego said.
On Aug. 15, 2025, Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier announced the decision to grant Babbitt military funeral honors.
In a letter to the Babbitt family posted by Judicial Watch, Lohmeier stated, “After reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect.”
“On behalf of the Secretary of the Air Force, I write to extend the offer for Military Funeral Honors for SrA Ashli Babbitt,” the letter stated.
Gallegos’ resolution claims that Babbitt does not deserve the military funeral because Babbitt “attempted to force her way inside by climbing through the door’s broken window, where a Capitol Police Officer intervened to protect dozens of House members and staff cornered nearby.”
“Ashli Babbitt’s actions on January 6, 2021, constitute disqualifying conduct under section 985 of 4 title 10, United States Code, the rendering of military funeral honors to her would bring discredit upon the Air Force, and she is not eligible for such honors,” the resolution continued.
CBS News reported:
Babbitt was on the front line of the mob that stormed the Capitol and attempted to crawl through a smashed window into the House Speaker’s Lobby, as lawmakers and congressional staff were evacuating during the Capitol siege. She was shot and killed by a police officer. A federal investigation of the shooting determined charges were not warranted against the officer.
The Pentagon initially denied the Babbitt family’s request for military funeral honors for her. It stated in a letter that the circumstances preceding her death — that she was “fatally shot after having illegally entered” the Capitol — resulted in the determination that conferring the honor would “bring discredit on the Air Force.” The letter was posted by Judicial Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative legal group, that lobbied for the Pentagon to provide honors to Babbitt. In its request to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the organization cited President Trump’s clemency for more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.
“Those honors are for those who defend the Constitution, not traitors,” Gallego wrote on X last week.
In May the Trump administration agreed to pay Babbitt’s family a $5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch. This outlet reported:
Babbitt was shot and killed by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd when trying to storm a barricade into the House Speaker’s lobby during the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. Her supporters, including President Trump, have claimed she was dealt with excessive force while the police officer maintains that he did his duty to protect then-sitting members of the U.S. Congress.
The lawsuit underscored that Babbitt was unarmed during the protest and “she was the only person killed by gunfire during the incident.”
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