The Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt at the U.S. House Chamber during the events taking place at the Capitol on Jan. 6 will reveal his identity publicly in an interview Thursday.
The exclusive interview with NBC News' Lester Holt will be the first time the police officer, whose identity has not been revealed since the shooting, has spoken out publicly about shooting Babbitt while she and other protesters were outside the glass doors to the Speaker's Lobby at the Capitol, the network said in a statement Wednesday.
The officer will share his perspective on the events of Jan. 6, including the aftermath and the threats he has received, and the news, first reported by NBC News, that the Capitol Police has exonerated him for the use of force in the shooting.
The interview is airing at 6:30 p.m. ET during "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt," with portions of the sit-down talk to air on "Today" and MSNBC. It will also be available on NBCNews.com and on NBC News NOW after it airs on the nightly news report.
The identity of the man who shot Babbitt has been demanded not only by her survivors but by Republicans including former President Donald Trump, who has characterized her death as murder. The Justice Department also said earlier this year it wouldn't charge the officer.
"I spoke to the wonderful mother and devoted husband of Ashli Babbitt, who was murdered at the hands of someone who should never have pulled the trigger of his gun," Trump said in a statement earlier this month.
"We know who he is. If that happened to the 'other side,' there would be riots all over America and yet, there are far more people represented by Ashli, who truly loved America, than there are on the other side. The Radical Left haters cannot be allowed to get away with this. There must be justice!"
According to a video obtained by The Washington Post and released on Jan. 8, just two days after the Capitol incidents, Babbitt was shot by an officer behind a barricaded door leading into the Speaker's Lobby, a hallway leading to the House of Representatives chamber.
The video shows her and others outside the door, where they were blocked by three Capitol Police officers. The officers moved away from the door when other officers arrived behind the protesters, according to the clip and other video posted online, and after they moved, the officer on the other side of the door opened fire, shooting Babbitt.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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