A rally in support of the rioters involved on the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol was held outside a DC prison on Tuesday, and Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt—the late 36-year-old Air Force veteran who was fatally gunned down by a Capitol Police officer during the insurrection—was in attendance. Witthoeft had some extra moral support during the demonstration, in the form of former President Trump, who called in to speak with her on her cellphone, reports the Independent. "It's a terrible thing that has happened to a lot of people that are being treated very, very unfairly," he told Witthoeft, who put him on speakerphone so more people could hear, in a video that has since circulated online.
Trump complained about other "riots" that had taken place in 2020 and beyond, claiming that "almost nothing has happened to those people." "We love Ashli and it was so horrible what happened to her, that that man shot Ashli is a disgrace," Trump told Witthoeft, adding without explanation, "We're with you, we're working with a lot of different people on this, and we can't let this happen." He later echoed that same sentiment: "We cannot allow this to happen to our country." Witthoeft noted that she was appreciative of Trump's call, saying it meant "a lot to me to know he's supporting the J6'ers," per the Independent.
It's not the first time Trump has gone to bat for Babbitt. In October, he recorded a video for her 36th birthday, in which he demanded the Justice Department reopen its probe into how she died, Forbes reported at the time. The agency closed its investigation in April after finding there was "insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution" of the officer who shot her. (Meanwhile, of those eagle-eyed viewers who thought they spotted a person wearing a chicken head and holding up a sign that read "Fart Noises" during Trump's call to Witthoeft—they weren't wrong.)
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