Prosecutors drop charges against Ashli Babbitt’s mother

The charges filed against the mother of Ashli Babbitt for illegally blocking traffic and disobeying an order from police on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection have been dropped. 

Gabriel Shoglow-Rubenstein, a spokesperson for the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, said the office declined to pursue the case against Micki Witthoeft.

A spokesperson said the office does not comment on decisions on whether to pursue charges but reviews each case and decides whether to move forward based on the strength of the evidence and benefit to public safety.

Officers told the group to get off the road and go to the sidewalk or they would be arrested, and Witthoeft refused to leave despite multiple warnings. She instead put her hands behind her back and asked to be arrested. 

Witthoeft was processed and released later that afternoon and given a court date. 

Babbitt was fatally shot during the insurrection while she tried to climb through a barricaded door near the House chamber of the Capitol. Members of Congress were still in the process of evacuating at the time. 

U.S. Capitol Police conducted an investigation into the incident and determined that the officer had reasonable belief that they or others were in imminent danger of serious physical injury, finding that their use of force was appropriate. Federal prosecutors declined to press charges against the officer after finding that there was “no evidence” to conclude that the conduct was unlawful “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Updated at 11:15 a.m.