Air Force Reverses Decision, Grants Military Funeral Honors to Ashli Babbitt
The U.S. Air Force has reversed its earlier refusal and formally approved full military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the 35-year-old Air Force veteran who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The move marks a dramatic shift from the military’s initial stance, which had denied the request and stated that granting honors would “bring discredit upon the U.S. Air Force.”
A Reversal After Nearly Four Years
Babbitt served more than a decade in the Air Force, achieving the rank of Senior Airman before leaving active duty. After her death, which occurred as she attempted to climb through a barricaded entrance outside the House chamber during the attack on the Capitol, her family petitioned the Air Force to allow funeral honors typically conferred upon former service members.
In 2021, Air Force leadership rejected the request, drawing criticism from Babbitt’s supporters and sparking ongoing legal disputes. The controversy deepened after her family filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense, alleging that the denial was unjust and in violation of established military policies regarding funeral rights for veterans.
According to a statement from the Air Force Under Secretary Matthew Lohmeier, who communicated the reversal to Babbitt’s family this month, the original decision was reassessed after an internal review: “I was persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect,” Lohmeier’s letter reportedly explained.
What Military Funeral Honors Mean
Military funeral honors are one of the most solemn rituals the armed services provide for veterans and their families. For enlisted service members such as Babbitt, the ceremony typically includes a detail of at least two uniformed representatives, one of whom must be from the deceased’s branch of service. The honors include the folding and formal presentation of the American flag to the next of kin, as well as the playing of taps — a ceremonial bugle call that has been part of U.S. military funerals since the Civil War.
Officials confirmed that these honors are now being offered for Babbitt, whose remains were interred in San Diego, California. The family has not yet announced when or where the ceremony will be conducted, but it is expected they may exercise the option at a later date.
Historical Context of Military Funeral Honors
Since 2000, U.S. law has mandated that all veterans with an honorable discharge are entitled to at least minimal military funeral honors upon request. The tradition, however, extends much further back. The practice of honoring fallen American service members with ceremonial rites emerged from Revolutionary War-era customs and was standardized during the 20th century.
The honors are symbolic recognition of a veteran’s service, regardless of circumstances following their time in uniform. While the military retains discretion in rare cases involving misconduct directly tied to service, denial of funeral honors after an honorable discharge is exceedingly uncommon. For this reason, the 2021 rejection of Babbitt’s request stood out as a controversial and historically unusual move.
Legal Fight Leads to Air Force Reassessment
The shift follows sustained legal and public pressure. Babbitt’s family teamed with Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, in a lawsuit against the Department of Defense, arguing that the denial violated both her rights and their ability to commemorate her service appropriately.
Court filings emphasized the length of her career in the Air Force, where she served multiple tours and was awarded medals for her contributions. Advocates for the family underscored that her military record, not the events surrounding her death, should have been the determining factor for funeral honors.
The eventual reversal by the Air Force comes amid growing debates over how institutions have handled cases connected to the January 6 riot — a moment that continues to divide public opinion and affect federal decision-making even years later.
National Reaction to the Decision
The new decision has drawn mixed reactions nationwide. Supporters of the change argue that Babbitt’s 14 years of honorable military service merit recognition, regardless of the circumstances of her death. For many veterans, they say, the principle is clear: service to the country should be remembered even if later events in civilian life are controversial.
Critics, however, have expressed concern that conducting military honors for Babbitt risks being interpreted as a tacit endorsement of the January 6 Capitol riot. Some lawmakers have argued that honoring participants of that day, even posthumously, could further blur the official response to one of the most disruptive incidents in modern U.S. political history.
Yet military officials stress that the decision is not about the politics of January 6 but about adherence to longstanding military traditions regarding veteran commemoration.
Comparisons Across Cases
While the Babbitt case is unique in its connection to January 6, her situation is not the first in which the U.S. military faced controversial decisions about funeral honors. Over past decades, debates have occasionally arisen over whether veterans who later committed crimes or were involved in turbulent events should still be eligible for ceremonial acknowledgment.
For instance, veterans convicted of heinous crimes, including murder or treason, are legally barred from receiving burial in national cemeteries and accompanying honors. But for individuals without dishonorable discharges or criminal records disqualifying them, the military generally adheres to its obligation.
Babbitt, discharged honorably years prior to her death, thus remained legally eligible for honors — a point her family strongly argued.
The Ongoing Weight of January 6
The decision to reverse course on funeral honors also intersects with evolving public discussions around January 6. The attack on the Capitol left five people dead in immediate aftermath-related events, injured scores of law enforcement officers, and resulted in more than 1,200 federal prosecutions.
Babbitt has become one of the most high-profile figures associated with the incident, in part because she was the sole person killed by police gunfire inside the Capitol that day. Her image has been invoked repeatedly in political speeches, movements, and online communities, often deepening divisions over how Americans interpret the events.
That context ensures the Air Force’s decision will carry resonance far beyond a single funeral. For many, it raises broader questions about how the U.S. balances recognition of military service with the charged legacies of January 6.
Regional and Economic Impact
In San Diego, where Babbitt’s remains rest and where she lived for much of her life, reactions are raw. The region is home to a large military community, with naval and Marine installations forming a major part of the local economy and culture. For that community, her case underscores the deeply personal question of how military legacies should be remembered.
Economically, the cost of military honors is relatively minor compared to other veterans’ benefits but symbolically carries significant weight. Funeral honors require staff, ceremonial equipment, and local coordination, but they also reaffirm the relationship between the armed forces and millions of living veterans and their families. When decisions about those honors are contested, it unsettles confidence in national commitments to servicemembers.
Looking Ahead
For the Babbitt family, the reversal represents both vindication and relief after years of legal battles and public scrutiny. Whether or not the ceremony is held promptly, the decision ensures her service will be formally recognized by the institution to which she devoted 14 years of her life.
For the Air Force and the broader U.S. military, the move reasserts the principle that military honors are determined by service record, rather than public opinion or political fallout. If nothing else, the decision highlights that the tension between military duty, civilian actions, and national remembrance continues to shape American institutions nearly four years after the January 6 attack.
As the nation continues to grapple with the legacies of that day, Ashli Babbitt’s name remains etched into the broader story — not only through the controversy of her death but now through the solemn and symbolic tradition of military burial honors.