In a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate today, former President Donald Trump said that “nobody was killed on January 6,” 2021 when insurrectionists stormed the Capitol to stop the electoral certification of Trump’s 2020 opponent, President Joe Biden.
His statement was incorrect and he is being mocked online for forgetting one of his most faithful supporters.
After saying that the Jan. 6 rioters were “treated very harshly,” Trump said the riot should be compared to other events in which “a lot of people were killed.”
“Nobody was killed on January 6,” Trump said. “The people of January 6 were treated very unfairly.”
Trump’s statement is not correct: Ashli Babbitt, who was participating in the riot, was shot by Capitol Police and died. An officer fired at her as Trump’s fans attempted to push through a closed door to get to legislators.
Another Trump supporter, Rosanne Boyland, collapsed while at the riot of an accidental overdose. Two other Trump supporters also died of heart attacks.
It’s possible Trump was referring to people on the other side of the riot, but that’s also misleading. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of injuries he sustained from attempting to control the riot.
And in the aftermath of Jan. 6, four police officers died by suicide.
Immediately after Trump said no one died on Jan. 6, many online rushed to mock him.
“Trump today: No one was killed on January 6th,” one X user tweeted. “Tell that to Ashli Babbitt’s family.”
“Later, Ashli Babbitt,” another person said. “No one cares anymore.”
“Ashli Babbitt’s family would like a word,” another X user wrote.
Others joked about how Babbitt might feel if she heard Trump seemed to forget about her death.
“I hope Ashli Babbitt in whatever afterlife she’s in just saw that Trump said no one died on January 6th on live TV,” an X user said. “Wonder if she regrets having gone to DC that day.”
Babbitt’s estate filed a $30 million wrongful death suit against the government in January. The lawsuit’s first hearing was on Tuesday.
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