There is no confirmation in any official record that Ashli Babbitt was carrying a knife when U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd shot her on January 6, 2021. The claim that she had a folding knife entered the public conversation through a September 2025 Senate floor speech and does not appear in the Department of Justice’s closing statement, the Capitol Police’s internal review, the wrongful death lawsuit filed by her estate, or any published account of the autopsy. Whether Babbitt had a knife on her person that day cannot be definitively established from what has been made public.
Where the Knife Claim Came From
On September 10, 2025, Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona said on the Senate floor that Babbitt entered the Capitol “carrying a folding knife.”1Cronkite News. Ruben Gallego Calls Ashli Babbitt Traitor, Failed Block Military Funeral Honors He made the statement while attempting to block military funeral honors for Babbitt that the Air Force had approved the previous month, arguing her actions on January 6 violated her military oath and calling her “a traitor.”2KJZZ. Gallego Calls Jan. 6 Rioter Ashli Babbitt Traitor in Failed Bid to Block Military Funeral Honors
Neither news account of the speech identified where Gallego got the information, and the senator did not cite a source. His resolution to block the honors was defeated after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama objected.
What the Official Record Says
The claim does not appear in any of the formal reviews of the shooting.
The Department of Justice closed its criminal investigation of Lt. Byrd in April 2021. Its public statement described the circumstances of the shooting in detail and made no mention of a knife or any weapon on Babbitt.3U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Closes Investigation Into Death of Ashli Babbitt
The U.S. Capitol Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility completed an internal administrative review in August 2021, finding Byrd’s conduct lawful and within department policy. That review also did not reference a knife.4United States Capitol Police. USCP Completes Internal Investigation January 6 Officer-Involved
The District of Columbia medical examiner ruled Babbitt’s death a homicide by gunshot to the left shoulder. The public statement on the autopsy did not include an inventory of personal effects or reference any weapon.5The Seattle Times. Cause of Death Determined for Four in Capitol Riot
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by her estate in January 2024, represented by Judicial Watch, described Babbitt as “unarmed” and alleged her hands were in the air when she was shot.6Judicial Watch. $4.975 Million Settlement of Ashli Babbitt The government settled the case in 2025 for $4,975,000 with no admission of liability.7Politico. Ashli Babbitt Trump Settlement
Why the Record Is Not Complete
Autopsy reports are not public records in the District of Columbia, so the full autopsy documenting anything found on Babbitt’s body has not been released. That is the piece of evidence most likely to settle the question one way or the other, and it remains unavailable to the public. What has been released, in the form of official summaries and litigation filings, is either silent on the question or describes Babbitt as unarmed.
Would a Knife Have Changed the Legal Analysis?
A use-of-force analysis published by Lawfare, written by policing scholars Geoffrey Alpert, Jeff Noble, and Seth Stoughton, examined the shooting under the standard courts apply in such cases. The framework looks at whether a person had the ability, opportunity, and intent to inflict death or serious injury, and a knife is the textbook example of “ability.”8Lawfare. Evaluating the Police Shooting of Ashli Babbitt
The authors pointed out, however, that the Supreme Court’s standard in Graham v. Connor asks what a reasonable officer perceived at the moment force was used, not what is discovered afterward. Byrd told NBC News he could not fully see what was on the other side of the barricaded door, could not see Babbitt’s hands, and did not know the contents of her backpack.96abc. Lt. Michael Byrd Ashli Babbitt Shooting: Capitol Police Officer Who Shot, Interview He did not claim to have known she was armed. On the publicly available evidence, the Lawfare authors wrote, “no specific information has yet been released that would support the conclusion that Babbitt, individually, had the physical ability to kill or seriously injure someone,” and they expressed “serious reservations” about whether the shooting met the legal threshold for an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
They also concluded it was “highly unlikely” Byrd could have been convicted of a crime, because criminal prosecution of an officer requires proof of willfulness or specific criminal intent, an extremely high bar. The DOJ reached a similar conclusion in closing its investigation, finding “no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. 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.”3U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Closes Investigation Into Death of Ashli Babbitt
In practical terms, a concealed folding knife would not have changed the legal picture much either way. It would not have justified a shooting by an officer who could not see it, and its absence would not have made the shooting unjustified if the officer reasonably perceived a threat from the mob pushing through the barricade.
Weapons in the Crowd Versus Weapons on Babbitt
Many people who breached the Capitol that day did carry weapons. The Department of Justice charged at least 122 individuals with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon, and the documented items included firearms, stun guns, knives, batons, baseball bats, flagpoles, chemical sprays, and a tomahawk axe.10CNN. Fact Check: RFK Jr. January 6 Weapons One rioter, Kennedy Lindsey, was carrying a short sword, a butterfly knife, a steel tactical whip, pepper spray, and a flashlight taser.11CBS News. US Capitol Assault: Kennedy Lindsey Sword, Steel Whip, Pepper Spray Weapons, FBI Says Because many rioters left the grounds without being searched, no full inventory of what was carried into the Capitol exists.
None of that answers the specific question about Babbitt. No charging document, investigative report, or court filing in the available record attributes a knife to her individually, and her estate’s lawsuit affirmatively described her as unarmed. What Gallego said in September 2025 remains, on the public record, an unsourced assertion.