Justice for Ashli Babbitt!

Judicial Watch Fights Biden Justice Department Request to Transfer Ashli Babbitt $30 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit from California to Washington, DC
Judicial Watch Sues Biden State Department for Communications Regarding Tucker Carlson
Appeals Court Hears Judicial Watch Argument for Teacher Fired for Conservative Social Media Posts
American Smugglers Recruited by Cartels Wreak Havoc on Border Region

Judicial Watch Fights Biden Justice Department Request to Transfer Ashli Babbitt $30 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit from California to Washington, DC

Judicial Watch just asked a federal court to deny the U.S. Government’s request to transfer the Ashli Babbitt $30 million wrongful death lawsuit from California to Washington, DC. Among other legal points, we argue that it would prejudice the case and be unjust for Ashli’s family if it were transferred to the hostile forum of the District of Columbia.

We filed the lawsuit on January 5, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on behalf of the family of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021 (Estate of Ashli Babbitt and Aaron Babbitt, et al. v. United States of America (No. 3:24-cv-00033)).

Babbitt was a 35-year-old resident of San Diego, CA, where she owned and operated a successful pool business with her husband Aaron. Ashli traveled alone from San Diego to Washington, DC, to attend the Women for America First (aka Save America) rally on January 6, 2021, at the Ellipse.

As our complaint recounts:

The shooting occurred at the east entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby. After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd, who is a United States Capitol Police commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.

***

The facts speak truth. Ashli was ambushed when she was shot by Lt. Byrd. Multiple witnesses at the scene yelled, “you just murdered her.”

Lt. Byrd was never charged or otherwise punished or disciplined for Ashli’s homicide.

On March 26, 2024, we filed our opposition to the Biden Justice Department’s request to transfer venue of the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Arguing against the change of venue, we point out that under federal law a “civil action against the United States may be brought in any judicial district in which the plaintiff resides,” and “a civil action on a tort claim against the United States may be prosecuted in the judicial district where the plaintiff resides.”

We argue:

Defendant’s position [to transfer venue] illustrates and underscores the prejudice and injustice that Plaintiffs would face if venue were transferred to the District of Columbia. Defendant mentions 80 Capitol Police officers and 60 Metropolitan Police officers that were injured and connects the deaths of three officers to the events on that day, thus connecting Ashli Babbitt to these deaths and other injuries, as if she caused them. The request for a change in venue is clearly influenced by Defendant’s strongest motivation for changing venue, which is to select the forum where it feels it would receive a favorable process and outcome based on adversity against January 6 participants. By its motion, Defendant hopes to unfairly and unjustly connect Ashli Babbitt to violence, injuries, and deaths for which she is blameless and connect her by association to thousands of individuals convicted of misdemeanors and felonies for which she was never charged and is unable to present a defense due to the lawless actions of one of Defendant’s employees in shooting and killing her.

***

It’s no secret that the District of Columbia is a hostile forum for January 6 defendants. It’s also prejudicially biased against Ashli Babbitt. For example, during a recent sentencing hearing in the District of Columbia in United States v. Daniel Goodwyn … District Judge Reggie B. Walton made the following statement to the defendant and his counsel regarding the shooting of Ashli Babbitt:

THE COURT: You should not have been – you cannot convince me that somehow what she was doing was somehow justified and the police did not have a justification for taking the actions that they took. You can’t convince me of that.

Judge Walton’s statement evidences he has already predetermined a crucial issue in this case – whether Ashli Babbitt’s killing was justified. Judge Walton made other biased comments on the record, including, “Well, she shouldn’t have been coming through the window,” and “this man who was protecting the Capitol ends up being called a thug … that is just mind boggling.” … Unfortunately, Judge Walton is speaking what many others are at least thinking behind the bench in the District of Columbia. This Court is the only venue which offers Plaintiffs a chance of receiving a fair trial.

Let’s be blunt, the Biden DOJ wants to move the Ashli Babbitt wrongful death lawsuit to DC because it knows the courts here are notoriously hostile to anyone tied to the January 6 protests.

As you know, we are extensively investigating the events of January 6.

In January 2024, we filed a FOIA lawsuit on behalf of Aaron Babbitt and the Ashli Babbitt Estate against the U.S. Department of Justice for all FBI files on Ashli Babbitt.

In October 2023, we received the court-ordered declaration of James W. Joyce, senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Capitol Police, in which he describes emails among senior officials of the United States Capitol Police in January 2021 that show warnings of possible January 6 protests that could lead to serious disruptions at the U.S. Capitol.

In September 2023, we received records from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, a component of the Department of Justice, in a FOIA lawsuit that details the extensive apparatus the Biden Justice Department set up to investigate and prosecute January 6 protestors.

A previous review of records from that lawsuit highlighted the prosecution declination memorandum justifying the decision not to prosecute U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd for the shooting death of Babbitt.

In January 2023, documents from the Department of the Air Force, Joint Base Andrews, MD, showed that Byrd was housed at taxpayer expense at Joint Base Andrews after he shot and killed U.S. Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

In November 2021, we released multiple audio, visual and photo records from the DC Metropolitan Police Department about Babbitt’s death. The records included a cell phone video of the shooting and an audio of a brief police interview of the shooter, Byrd.

In October 2021, United States Park Police records related to the January 6, 2021, demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol showed that on the day before the January 6 rally featuring President Trump, U.S. Park Police expected a “large portion” of the attendees to march to the U.S. Capitol and that the FBI was monitoring the January 6 demonstrations, including travel to the events by “subjects of interest.”

Check back here often for updates on all these lawsuits…

Judicial Watch Sues Biden State Department for Communications Regarding Tucker Carlson

Judicial Watch last week filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department for all emails and diplomatic notes from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and other top department officials that reference former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State(No. 1:24-cv-00840)).

On February 8, 2024, the Tucker Carlson Network and X (Twitter) ran Carlson’s interview in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was the first interview with Putin to be granted to a Western journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

We sued in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia after the State Department failed to comply with a February 7, 2024, FOIA request for:

All (2024) emails and diplomatic notes sent to and from the following officials referencing “Tucker Carlson”: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary James O’Brien, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Yuri Kim, Deputy Assistant Secretary Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar, Deputy Assistant Secretary Joshua Huck, Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary Jacqueline Ramos, and/or Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher W. Smith.

The State Department told us that “unusual circumstances” had delayed the processing of the request, but it has yet to provide any substantive response.

Why is the Biden State Department violating FOIA law to hide records on Tucker Carlson?

Appeals Court Hears Judicial Watch Argument for Teacher Fired for Conservative Social Media Posts

 Judicial Watch battles corruption and protects rights not just here in DC but across America.

We were in court this week for oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the case we filed on behalf of Kari MacRae, a Massachusetts high school teacher who was fired in retaliation for posts on social media that predated her employment at Hanover High School (MacRae v. Matthew Mattos and Matthew A. Ferron (No. 21-cv-11917, 23-1817)). (You can listen to the argument here.)

We filed the lawsuit in November 2021, asserting a claim for First Amendment retaliation.

MacRae, who was hired as a Hanover High School teacher on August 31, 2021, was fired over several TikTok posts that were made months prior to her hiring at the school. MacRae, who in May of 2021 was elected to the Bourne School Committee, made the posts in her personal capacity as a citizen and candidate for public office.

On May 18, 2021, as part of her campaign for school committee member, MacRae posted a TikTok video which stated, in part:

So pretty much the reason I ran for school board and the reason I’m taking on this responsibility is to ensure that students, at least in our town, are not being taught critical race theory. That they’re not being taught that the country was built on racism. So they’re not being taught that they can choose whether or not they want to be a girl or a boy.  It’s one thing to include and it’s one thing to be inclusive. And it’s one thing to educate everybody about everything. It’s completely another thing to push your agenda. And, with me on the school board, that won’t happen in our town.

We point out in our brief:

Hanover Public Schools fired MacRae because of political speech she posted online months before she even became employed at Hanover High School. In addition, the speech did not concern Hanover Public Schools as she did not live in Hanover and was campaigning for a school committee position in a district 45 minutes away. Nor did any student, parent, or teacher at Hanover Public Schools raise issues about MacRae continuing to teach at Hanover High School. Hanover Public Schools’ sole excuse for firing MacRae was that the school administrators believed that if she continued teaching at the high school, her unrelated, preemployment speech would cause a disruption.

The District Court found in favor of the school district. It concluded that Hanover Public Schools’ prediction of disruption was reasonable.

Our brief argues:

MacRae challenges the ruling on four grounds. First, the First Amendment employment retaliation standard does not apply to unrelated, preemployment speech. Second, a mere prediction of disruption is insufficient to outweigh an employee’s interest in engaging in political speech. Third, the reasonableness of that prediction is a question for a jury and is not appropriate for summary judgment. Fourth, the District Court incorrectly found that Hanover Public Schools’ prediction of disruption was reasonable. The District Court’s ruling should be reversed, and the case should be remanded.

In a similar case, in July 2022, we successfully settled a civil right lawsuit on behalf of its client David Flynn, who was removed from his position as head football coach after exercising his right as a parent-citizen to raise concerns about critical race theory and Black Lives Matter propaganda in his daughter’s seventh-grade history class.

American Smugglers Recruited by Cartels Wreak Havoc on Border Region

 Our Southwest is a war zone, and it’s only getting worse as Americans are drawn into crime. Our Corruption Chroniclesblog reports the following exclusive story:

Illegal immigration and serious crimes such as human and drug smuggling that typically accompany it are devastating a once tranquil border region in southeastern Arizona where longtime residents and local officials say federal authorities have negligently handed off some immigration duties to overwhelmed local police. Judicial Watch visited the area, Cochise County, nearly six years ago and reported a dire situation back then that multiple sources confirm has dramatically worsened. At the time human and drug traffickers regularly evaded a meager force of Border Patrol agents in the mountainous region about 75 miles southeast of Tucson in the picturesque Sonoran Desert surrounded by the scenic Huachuca Mountains. The situation has deteriorated significantly under the Biden administration, residents and law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch, especially with the addition of the new “American smuggler,” U.S. citizens, predominantly young adults from Phoenix and Tucson, recruited by Mexican cartels through social media.

“Smuggling networks have now incorporated American citizens to smuggle persons from the border to cities throughout the U.S.,” said a Cochise County law enforcement source, who added that the new trend has created deadly consequences in the border communities where the American recruits often travel at dangerously high speeds through local roads and highways. “Most are inexperienced young drivers,” according to a community leader who has lived in the area for decades. In one recent incident an elderly woman was struck and killed by a speeding vehicle on her way to dinner with family. “The youth behind the wheel was from the greater Phoenix area and was participating in a smuggling effort while evading law enforcement,” according to an area official, who also said police and residents are hyper vigilant of the deadly pursuits, which are becoming quite common and often exceed speeds of 100 miles per hour in residential neighborhoods.

Migrant and drug smugglers even use a beloved chapel, Our Lady of the Sierras, in the town of Hereford for their illicit operations. Situated on a hill with a 75-foot Celtic cross that remains lit at night, the chapel serves as a navigational tool for smugglers and the grounds are regularly used to transfer drugs. In 2011 migrant smugglers burned down the chapel after starting a fire along the border to escape the Border Patrol during a pursuit. Besides the chapel, which was eventually rebuilt, the fire destroyed nearly 30,000 acres and dozens of homes. Emboldened by the lack of law enforcement in the chapel’s remote area, smugglers openly disclose to residents that they are participating in illicit activities. On a recent evening when a local official informed a smuggling guide in Spanish that the grounds were being closed for the night, the man said he was waiting for a group to cross over the mountain then the group would get picked up. “He spoke as if his efforts were legitimate, as he continued to monitor his phone and he knew exactly where law enforcement were and their response times to the shrine,” a Hereford source with direct knowledge of the incident told Judicial Watch. “No vehicle was present, indicating he was the guide and would call for transportation once he linked up with the group.” A resident called the Border Patrol but was told there were “no responding agents” available at the time and suggested calling the Cochise County Sheriff, which also had limited officers that arrived too late to catch the illegal aliens.

Another related threat to this charming community has been created by the increasing number of packages containing deadly drugs littered throughout the area by mules, often in residential neighborhoods. Federal officials say China supplies Mexican drug cartels with precursor chemicals to produce methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant that speeds up the body’s system, and fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, and residents along the border are extremely apprehensive about handling the backpacks and other items left behind by illegal immigrants because they fear coming into contact with the deadly drugs. One longtime Cochise County resident told Judicial Watch that he found a leather pouch in his driveway recently and reported it to the local sheriff, who sent an officer to secure the pouch. “The deputy informed me that this area was extremely active at night and additional coverage by local, county and state law enforcement were patrolling the state highways to interdict,” said the resident who does not want to be identified to protect himself and his family.

Authorities are also incredibly concerned that they cannot communicate with a growing number of migrants encountered in their jurisdiction because the illegal crossers do not speak Spanish or, of course, English. “The assumption, speaking Spanish when these encounters occur is now obsolete,” a local official said. “The fear is that encounters will occur, especially at night, with someone that residents and law enforcement cannot communicate with.” Another area source said that the mass migration into the U.S. has made residents along the border hyper vigilant of terrorist attacks, especially after the October Hamas attacks in Israel. “The threat of foreign terrorists with the intent of causing harm to U.S. citizens is real,” according to a veteran federal intelligence agent who is familiar with the situation in Cochise County.

The Biden administration’s disastrous open border policies are also contributing greatly to the spread of communicable diseases, Arizona health officials confirm. A former Arizona Department of Health veteran based in Tucson offered safehouses in the town of Altar, Sonora Mexico as an example. The small compounds resemble military barracks where transients are packed in to await shuttles north to the U.S.-Mexico border. Makeshift bunks are lined up to sleep and minimal bathroom facilities with dismal sanitation, enabling the rapid spread of diseases between one infected individual and the next migrant that occupies the same space the following day. “Tuberculosis is a prime example,” the retired Arizona health officials said. “Several strains exist and when hosts, in this case migrants, for diseases such as TB are immersed in crowded living conditions, the spread of these strains is accelerated.”

These are just some of the serious issues created by the illegal immigration crisis in this small, once peaceful corner of the border region where residents and multi generations of ranchers used to enjoy an idyllic life. A few miles north in the town of Sierra Vista, residents are too scared to enjoy a simple pastime—horseback riding on their own land. One rancher told Judicial Watch years ago that he found more than a dozen bodies on his sprawling cattle ranch which has been in his family for well over a century. The property shares a 10 ½-mile border with Mexico, making it a popular route for human and drug smugglers. “If the current administration remains in office, the past three years of illicit activity is bound to become more the norm, an institutionalized lack of law and order,” a longtime Cochise County community activist and former military veteran said this week. “Criminal organizations continue to enjoy support from our federal and state leadership.”

Until next week,