Ashli Babbitt’s mother was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday afternoon as she demonstrated with a larger group on the second anniversary of her daughter’s death during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Micki Witthoeft, 58, was arrested on two traffic violations for failing to obey an order from Capitol Police and illegally blocking traffic, police said in a press release.
Babbitt was part of the mob that forced its way into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Babbitt was fatally shot by Capitol Police as she tried to climb through a barricaded door near the House chamber, where members of Congress were still being evacuated at the time.
On Friday, two years after the attack, her mother and other demonstrators illegally blocked traffic near the Capitol, according to police. Witthoeft was arrested after she refused multiple requests to move out of the road and onto the open sidewalk, they said.
“You’re not obeying the traffic laws,” one Capitol Police officer can be seen saying to Witthoeft in a livestream of the incident. “You can either move to the sidewalk or you can be placed under arrest.”
Witthoeft responded by turning around with her hands behind her back.
She and her fellow demonstrators had earlier been blocked from moving closer to the Capitol, as they did not have a permit to demonstrate on Capitol grounds, according to police.