Five years after Ashli Babbitt was killed in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, her husband, Aaron Babbitt, told Newsmax on Tuesday that the anniversary remains painful, but he is enduring, marking the date while trying to live in a way that would have made her proud.
On "Greg Kelly Reports," Babbitt said the day felt different from past years because it forced him to relive the events of 2021.
"I'm hanging in there," Babbitt said, describing the anniversary as a moment of remembrance while acknowledging the emotional weight it still carries.
He said the months immediately after his wife's death were chaotic, extending beyond grief into what he described as intense pressure from federal authorities and the public.
"My business was being dismantled. Destroyed by fake reviews, and the press was all over the place.
"[The] FBI was at my door. We found out later that they had an open file on my dead wife.
"They opened one after her death. They had a file on me," he said.
Babbitt said that President Donald Trump's public remarks about Ashli Babbitt in 2021 and later contacting him directly provided reassurance at a time when he felt isolated.
"It was a game-changer for my confidence. It was July of 2021 that he called me and said her name at a rally that night, and then I knew I had friends in the right places at that point," he said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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