A woman, who was fatally shot during the Capitol riots, lived with her husband and their girlfriend in San Diego.
35-year-old Ashli Babbitt was gunned down by Capitol police when she tried to climb through a smashed window adjacent to a door that had been barricaded during the riots last Wednesday.
She had traveled from San Diego to take part in the riot, which saw thousands of Trump supporters descend on Capitol Hill in a bid to stop Congress certifying Joe Biden‘s election win.
Ashli Babbitt was married to 39-year-old Aaron Babbitt, and together they lived with 29-year-old Kayla Joyce as a throuple.
Speaking after the incident that took place on January 6, Joyce said that she was unaware of Ashli Babbitt’s political beliefs. She did not follow her on Twitter and thought she was traveling to a rally.
She said Ashli was very unlikely to put herself in a position where she would be hurt.
Aaron Babbitt and Kayla Joyce found out about Ashli’s death on live television, as media outlets across the world aired the scenes on Capitol Hill last week.
Aaron Babbitt stated: “She loved her country, and she was doing what she thought was right to support her country, joining up with like-minded people that also love their president and their country.”
Kayla Joyce explained: “I actually saw it first on video when I was on the phone with multiple hospitals trying to find her.”
She has urged the local community to remember how Ashli Babbitt was and to ignore the image being portrayed online.
She combatted hateful online comments by adding that Ashli “did not deserve” to be shot just because she had an opinion.
Ashli Babbitt’s girlfriend concluded: “She was extremely happy that day. And that’s all I think about.”
Ashli Babbitt’s brother, 21-year-old Andrew Witthoeft, spoke about how his sister had been raised in a family where they were taught to respect people of all races, beliefs, and backgrounds.
Witthoeft has met Joyce only twice but said the trio appeared to be a “team” and that Joyce was supporting Aaron following Ashli’s death.
Witthoeft shared: “They were all one team. There was never anything bad; I never saw them against each other or anything like that. They were one team.”
The social media accounts for the family have been made private since the riots. Kayla Joyce expressed that she and the Babbitts were very private people who stayed within their community and did not want all the attention they have now received.
Joyce spoke about the funeral by saying that Ashli Babbit’s ashes will be returned to California, and they are planning where they will hold a small memorial.
