Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

I’ve been receiving a virtual tsunami of requests to do a use of force legal analysis of the shooting death of January 6 protestor Ashli Babbitt by Capit0l Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd as Babbitt appeared to be attempting to violently breach the barricaded doorway being guarded by Byrd. In fact, I did a detailed legal analysis of this shooting only days after it occurred—"Capitol Hill Shooting of Ashli Babbitt:  Murder or Justified?” (Jan. 12, 2021)—although as with most of our Law of Self Defense content, access to that analysis was restricted to Law of Self Defense Members, who had the benefit of that analysis almost 8 months ago. The last few days have seen a resurgence in requests for such a legal analysis of the Babbitt shooting, presumably as a result of two events.  First, the August 28 interview of Lt. Byrd by NBC News Correspondent Lester Holt:  “Extended Interview: Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd Speaks Out.” Second, an opinion piece on that interview published at The Hill by prominent legal expert Jonathan Turley:  “Justified shooting or fair game? Shooter of Ashli Babbitt makes shocking admission.” So, with those two additional pieces of information and opinion tossed into the legal discussion of the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt it seems an appropriate time to re-visit our legal analysis of that tragic event.  (Fair warning to Law of Self Defense Members—much of this content is re-packaged from our January 12 analysis to which you’ve already had access.)