As Trump-supporting rioters, some armed with weapons, breached the Capitol’s secure perimeter, one woman was fatally shot by police as she tried to unlawfully climb through a window, according to a news report from KUSI. Her supporters tried to take over a hashtag meant to commemorate the long list of Black women and girls who were killed by police for merely existing.
The news outlet confirmed the insurgent’s identity as Ashli Babbitt. Babbitt was among the violent mob that stormed the Capitol on Wednesday as Congress attempted to certify the votes to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win, as Blavity previously reported. As news of the woman’s identity began to circulate, a sinister spin on a popular hashtag among Black social justice warriors began to trend on Twitter.
Babbitt’s husband told KUSI that his wife was a 14-year Air Force veteran, who served four tours.
In an attempt to make Babbitt the martyr of the MAGA movement, some Twitter users hashtagged her death with #SayHerName. However, the hashtag was created by the African American Policy Forum to bring “awareness to the often invisible names and stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police violence and provides support to their families” in December 2014, according to its website.
Her name Ashli Babbitt.
Her name Ashli Babbitt.
Her name Ashli Babbitt.
Say. Her. Name. pic.twitter.com/wJhrpruyRk— Syrian Girl ????️???????? (@Partisangirl) January 7, 2021
I mean someone is dead. Even if you don’t like what she did she lost her life. Have we lost the common decency to realize the value of a life. They both matter equally. Whether it’s this woman or Breonna Taylor both of them should be remembered.
— Random Taco Nibba (@CRGP97) January 7, 2021
#SayHerName
#AshliBabbit gunned down in cold blood— GrrrGraphics Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics) January 7, 2021
Other Twitter users were not happy about Trump supporters using the hashtag.
the people using #SayHerName for ashli babbit are so disgusting. she BROKE IN THE CAPITOL BUILDING. SHE COMMITTED A CRIME. that hastag is used for the innocent black women killed by the police. not a fucking terrorist
— . (@lightspogchamp) January 7, 2021
Another Twitter user simply listed the innocent Black women who had been killed by police using the hashtag.
#SayHerName is for Breonna Taylor #SayHerName is for Charleena Lyles#SayHerName is for Oluwatoyin Salau#SayHerName is for Rem'mie Fells#SayHerName is for Riah Milton#SayHerName is for Sandra Bland#SayHerName is for Atatiana Jefferson
— void_healingbloc (@voidhealingbloc) January 7, 2021
One person inferred that thugs weren’t included in the hashtag.
PSA#SayHerName is for innocent black women who lost their life due to police brutality.
Not for thugs or terrorists who decided to raid Congress in DC.. pic.twitter.com/jlcVAWvfEi— Cancel Not Tees (@CancelNotTees) January 7, 2021
Another referenced the difference between Babbitt and Breonna Taylor. Taylor was shot to death by police in her home that she shared with her boyfriend, as Blavity previously reported.
I’m sorry, but getting shot while storming the Capitol and trying to breach the House chamber because you’re a deranged Qnut is not at all like being shot while you’re sleeping in your own home. #SayHerName
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) January 7, 2021
Police are still investigating Babbitt’s death, according to NPR. The 35-year-old woman’s ex-husband told the publication that she was proud of serving her country. “She saw first hand through her multiple deployments overseas how others were treated and was grateful to have the freedoms we have in America,” Timothy McEntee, an Air Force veteran, told NPR by email. A video posted to Facebook showed Babbitt in an angry rant prior to going to the Capitol on Wednesday.
NPR also reported that at least three other people were killed during the violent insurrection in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
