The Capitol Police officers
that shot and
killed Ashli Babbitt on January 6.
It's been the topic of discussion
amongst many circles about how it
happened, what happened and
this and that.
There's been some threats has been
things thrown his way.
But the one thing that we didn't
always know is his identity,
his face his name to go with it.
So in an exclusive interview
with Lester Holt on NBC News,
he did just that.
So he identified himself and he
talked about some of those threats.
And about why he's coming out now
and showing who he is.
So let's listen to that first
piece here.
>> He's been the target of threats.
Could you give us the nature of
some of those threats?
>> They talked about killing me,
cutting off my head.
Very vicious and cruel things.
>> Racist things?
>> There were some racist attacks
as well.
That's all disheartening,
because I knew I was doing my job.
>> Given the nature of the threats
that you described.
Do you have any concern about
showing your face and
identifying yourself?
>> Of course I do.
That is very vital point and
it's something that is frightening.
I believe I show the most carriage
on January 6, and it's time for
me to do that.
>> So that was Lieutenant Michael
Byrd of the Capitol Police Force.
And he talked about some of those
threats and some of the things that
have happened with him.
And as we know, he's been the topic
of discussion when it comes even
using Ashli Babbitt as a reason for
more illegal activity,
more insurrections,
activity towards the government or
just general distrust of
the current administration.
So, as he pointed out, he needed to
show a little bit more,
I guess what he saw his courage to
come forward and show his face.
But also to argue the points about
what he experienced and
what he saw on that day and
why he did what he did.
So let's go to that second clip
about what happened in the moment
when he shot.
I had been yelling and
screaming as loud as I was.
Please stop, get back, get back,
stop.
We have a weapon strong.
Byrd, on his hand and gun visible,
targeted a figure trying to climb
through a window.
>> We fired a single fatal shot
hitting Ashli Babbitt.
>> We see your arm out there for
a considerable amount of time.
We wavering.
>> I was taking a tactical stance
you're ultimately hoping that your
commands will be complied with and
enforced.
Fortunately they were not.
>> What did you think
this individual was
doing at that moment?
>> He was posing a threat to United
States House of Representatives.
>> So we did have long discussions
about what he did and people
thought it was wrongdoing but
just in case those who didn't
realize this.
NBC News did also report that Byrd
has been cleared of any wrongdoing
by the Justice Department and
the Capitol Police.
And announcing the decision not to
charge in the Justice Department
said in April that investigators
had examined the video physical
evidence from the scene.
Autopsy results and statements from
the officer involved, as well as
other officers and witnesses.
They went on to say
the investigation as part of
their statement.
The investigation revealed
no evidence to establish that at
the time the officer fired a single
shot at Miss Babbitt.
The officer did not reasonably
believe that it was necessary to do
so in self defense or in defense of
the members of Congress and others
evacuating the house chamber.
So federal prosecutors said in
their state,
which is a little oddly worded, but
the idea was they didn't
find that he did something wrong in
that decision to put it that way.
And he didn't think and kind of
unknown backhanded note that.
So, in case that statement was
twisted in the way to you guys,
they found that he didn't know
wrongdoing in that decision.
>> Yeah, so now first of all,
should we have known
who did the shooting of course we
live in a free country and
the police work for us.
And so when any policeman does
a shooting, eventually we have to
know what his name is and
why he did the shooting and
what the conclusion of that
investigation was.
We are perfectly consistent
on all of that.
Now should he have shot well,
we often say on this show, and
I say myself thousand times.
For God's sake,
remember when they say, freeze,
put your hands up, and they would
give people an opportunity to put
down the weapons, step away,
comply with the orders, is that now
they don't do that anymore.
In 99% of the cases certainly
the ones we covered let's put it
that way to be fair, right?
And you see unarmed black men and
children being killed non stop to
me Rice was shot in two seconds.
John Crawford was shot in two
seconds and
never given an opportunity.
It turns out it was a toy gun.
It was turns out it was a gun,
a BB gun that Walmart was selling
that he was actually shopping for.
We didn't bother asking questions.
Now is this a similar situation but
put aside the racial
component here.
The other officers give them enough
chance to comply.
Are you kidding me?
I mean, they went through
how many different gates?
How many doors did they break?
How many windows did they break?
How many officers did they trample
upon and endanger the lives of?
And take weapons off of their
bodies?
And then even at this is the last
stand.
If they all pour in their
rioters is hundreds of them,
if they all pour in there, and they
got zip ties, and they got nooses.
And they're chanting about killing
people, including the republican
vice president,
who we now know was only minutes
from being caught by the rioters
who were chanting hang my pencils.
They were coming in.
They had thousand opportunities to
comply.
A thousand and if they had gone
through those gates,
God knows what would have happened.
And so it's Ashli Babbitt was
the first to break through but it
doesn't really matter who it was,
if it was the another writer who
had broken through first.
That's who would have gotten shot.
And these are the same people,
these right wingers who say, well
just comply with the pollution.
You wouldn't have any problems.
You wouldn't have any problems at
all >> Easy.
>> Us we're not going to comply.
We're going to disregard
their orders, beat the crap out
of them and look to kill people.
They shot us, you police do that.
Yeah, they do it a lot quicker.
If you weren't white and
you're in a right winger.
>> Yeah, most definitely.
I mean, literally there's police
officers where they'll just see
a teenager and a hoodie and
say that they're afraid for
their lives, right?
I mean, if there's a police officer
that had a reason to say they're
afraid for their lives, right?
Being afraid of a mom, that's
literally breaking through a door.
Is chanting about hanging people.
That is definitely a life
fearing situation.
And you also have to look at the
fact that he only fired one shot.
I mean, in my own city of
Minneapolis just a few weeks ago.
There was somebody who was killed
by police officers who was parked.
In a parking garage just parked
sitting in a parking garage, and
they fired countless shots into his
vehicle as he was sitting there
with another person.
And so those police officers say we
had to because this any other thing
and we still don't have details
about that.
But it's hard to think that when
they're trying to,
these right-wingers are trying to
justify that killing of a black man
in Minneapolis.
And then turn around and say, well,
actually Ashli Babbitt.
But he only fired one shot,
it didn't sound like he unloaded
an entire clip.
It's very dishonest but ultimately,
it reveals that behind their
hypocrisy is really just perfectly
consistent racism.
Right their issue,
is that a white woman was killed by
a black police officer.
That was their central issue.
That same thing happened
in Minneapolis where when a white
woman was killed
by a police officer in Minneapolis.
The conservatives here were upset,
but when you have George Floyd
being killed by a police officer
being literally murdered.
They turned around and try and
justify it, even though
George Floyd wasn't really doing
anything that would have warranted
the police going in really.
>> Okay, [LAUGH] so
many good points there because I've
forgotten about that
story of the woman in Minneapolis.
I think it's Minneapolis
specifically where the police
officer killed her.
It was a very similar
situation where he absolutely acted
irresponsibly and quickly and
all that.
It's just the reaction seems so
much different.
That's I remember noticing
the exact one at reaction to this
and I just watched the concern
was there for every person.
Who was in this victim eyes
position now in sitting in
their car or just doing nothing or
there's some misunderstanding and
then suddenly fires, shots
are fired and their life is gone.
So but I do want to point out one
more thing about this interview
with NBC that Byrd did have.
Because Donald Trump has been
talking about him and we know about
this, he's been consistently
talking about what he did, and
what he should have done, and
joining this course of promoting
Ashli Babbitt as this martyr.
But I do want to show what he did
say about those types of things
coming from a former president,
because that's some serious
accusations and let's listen to his
response to that.
>> Former President Trump has has
talked about you and this incident.
He says she was murdered.
What is it feel like to hear that
from a former president?
>> Well, it's disheartening if he
was in Iran or anywhere.
And I'm responsible for him.
I was prepared to do the same
thing for him and his family.
>> Would you have his
back today if you were so assigned?
>> I sure would,
because it's my job.
I do my job for Republican, for
Democrat, for White, for Black,
Red, Blue, Green.
>> There's a lot of people
that didn't know who this guy was.
He's been on the force I believe
28 years,
almost 30 years to that point.
No one knew his name.
But now there's a lot of
knowledge about him and
suddenly everything about him and
what his beliefs were.
They're speculating whether or
not this was politically motivated.
Not sure how something can be
politically motivated in the middle
of a riot that's going on and
your job is to protect people that
are literally right behind him.
As the last barricade
has been set there at that window,
we saw the glass being broken.
I'm not sure how many more
threatening signs he can take in.
And he did point out his training
told him to do
such a thing like that.
So he did take one shot,
and in my opinion,
as you guys also point out,
that was one shot.
When someone is afraid, and
especially when see police officers
when they're afraid, and they feel
they're in a position where they're
not in the last line of defense.
And there was also fewer cops there
because of COVID-19 and there was a
thinner amount of people that could
tell him what was going on and
what he could do in that moment.
Man, I'm surprised only one
shot went off.
I gotta be honest.
It was other people behind her.
>> 100% there's no questions
because they were right wingers.
I guarantee it.
In fact, Ben made such
a great point.
I just looked it up to refresh my
recollection here.
You remember Christopher Dorner.
He was the African American guy who
had targeted police in Atlanta.
It was a huge manhunt after
him, right.
And in the midst of that, the LAPD
thought that he was in a car,
in reality it was two women,
47 years old and 71 years old.
They don't get any like
Christopher Arnold was a big guy,
just tiny women,
how many times they shot the car.
They fired over hundred rounds.
They obviously didn't even look
inside, because they look nothing
like Dorner, right.
They're like who cares?
It kind of maybe might look
like the car that he was driving.
They put hundred rounds into
that car.
>> Jesus.
>> This guy shot only once as
there's a literal mob of right
wingers chanting about executing
politicians whose job it is to
protect that.
It's Bernie's job to protect.
He fires one shot how dare did
you know police do shootings in
America?
Did you know police do shootings?
It has finally affected us and
now we are aggrieved.
Okay, great, okay, fine,
no problem instead of looking to
murder that police officer,
I thought blue lives mattered.
But I mean, isn't that amazing?
The guys who are like, well lives
matter and they got the flag with
the blue line and the American flag
and all that stuff.
I kill man down,
get up >> Qualified immunity.
[LAUGH] >> How about beheading him?
He told me about it, we had him.
But look, if you actually mean
that, hey, you're upset by this
because you thought that police
should be more careful.
I got news for you.
You can go join Cori Bush and
other progressives and
doing police reform.
Theoretically, some of
the Republican senators
are working on it now.
And in reality, of course,
what they're doing is slowing
things down.
So nothing ever gets past and
watering everything down so
that it's totally pointless.
And that's what the job
of the Republicans is.
But if you're actually upset and
you're not full of crap, which all
the right wings are full of crap,
they're all on this issue.
None of you mean a goddamn thing.
None of you want police reform.
You just want black people shot not
white people shot and
that you want left wingers shot but
not right wingers shot right.
So if you actually want to police
reform, here's a great way to do
qualified immunity.
So Cori bush adjust democrats
fighting for you get rid of
qualified immunity and
then officers would be civilly
liable and
then you could sue Michael Burt.
I don't know that you'd win but you
could sue them and then he would
personally have to pay the guys who
put hundred rounds into the wrong
car during the Dorner Chase.
Yeah, LA had to pay $4.2 million
Jana Jr. and I live in LA we had to
pay that money.
But the cops have to pay
nothing they're,
who cares whatever no big deal we
almost murdered the wrong people.
No consequences, okay, so you want
to get rid of qualified immunity?
Yeah, I didn't think
so, right wing.
It's exactly what you are entirely
100% full of crap.
>> Yeah, I mean,
it's just 100% correct.
And I mean, I really want to double
down and appoint to they say
it's politically motivated, right.
What do they mean when they
say it's politically motivated?
They mean the same thing when they
talk about refugees
coming from Afghanistan,
they're saying, they're going to be
Democratic voters.
We just caught them on
the game, right?
People have caught up on the game
and they're okay, well,
you're obviously racist.
And so now instead of saying black
or brown, they're just saying.
Democratic voters and
they're assuming I don't know
anything about that police
officer's politics.
I have no idea what
his politics are.
And these Republicans are so eager
to just equate any person of color
with being a Democratic voter and
then using that as some sort
of justification for their
just absolutely rancid racism.
>> Yeah, last point here because
Ben made another great point there.
How do you know that those Afghans
who helped our military and are
generally culturally conservative,
are going to be Democratic voters?
Why you think they're
going to be Democratic voters,
because Republicans hate Muslims.
So as soon as they come in,
you'll tell them, we despise you.
We don't want
you to be in this country.
You're Brown, you're Muslim,
we hate you.
And it's because you're going to
turn them into Democratic voters
with your hatred and bigotry.
Get just be honest about it.
Just put the hoods back on and
be honest.
That's all.
>> They do and they can