Judicial Watch Sues for Details of Ashli
Babbitt’s Shooter’s Special Housing
The government’s actions during and after the January 6, 2021, events at
the U.S. Capitol continue raising serious questions. We’re now pursuing a
rather extraordinary cover-up of Defense Department involvement in the
aftermath of the police killing of an unarmed veteran on that day.
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S.
Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Justice for records related to
the housing of U.S. Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd 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 (Judicial
Watch v U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Justice
(No. 1:22-cv-02948)).
We have received information that Byrd was housed at Andrews in the
immediate period after he killed Babbitt.
The unarmed Babbitt
was shot and killed as she allegedly climbed through a broken interior
window in the United States Capitol. She was a 14-year Air Force veteran.
The identity of the shooter was kept secret by Congress, the Justice
Department, and DC police for eight months until Byrd went
public in August 2021 to try to defend his killing of Babbitt.
We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after Joint
Base Andrews, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, and the
FBI failed to respond to three July 2022 FOIA requests about Byrd’s
housing while his name as the shooter of Ashli Babbitt was being withheld
from the public by the government.
In our complaint, we explained to the court that we had asked all three
government agencies for all records relating to the billeting of Byrd at
Andrews from January 6, 2021, to July 2022, including authorization papers,
housing, meals, transportation, and visitor logs.
Here’s some background.
In June 2022, we produced DOJ
records related to the shooting that included a memo recommending
“that the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia
decline for criminal prosecution the fatal shooting of Ashli McEntee
[Babbitt],” also noting that the shooter, Byrd, “did not create a
police report or documents” related to the shooting of Babbitt. A
footnote details missing evidence: “During the debrief of Lieutenant
Byrd, he did recall writing a few sentences on an evidence bag the evening
of January 6, 2021, at the request of a crime scene officer. To date, the
bag has not been located by USCP or MPD.”
In November 2021, we received
multiple audio,
visual
and photo
records from the DC Metropolitan Police Department about the shooting
death of Ashli Babbitt on January 6, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol Building.
The records include a cell
phone video of the shooting. An audio file of a police interview of the
shooter, Byrd, indicates he declined to cooperate.
We previously uncovered records from the DC Metropolitan Police showing
that multiple officers claimed they
didn’t see a weapon in Babbitt’s hand before Byrd shot her, and
that Byrd was visibly distraught afterward. One officer attested that he
didn’t recall hearing any verbal commands before Byrd shot Babbitt. The
records include internal communications about Byrd’s case and a crime
scene examination report. Investigators who wrote the January 6, 2021, Metro
PD Death Report for Babbitt (identified as Ashli Elizabeth
McEntee-Babbitt Pamatian) note that the possible Manner of Death was
“Homicide (Police Involved Shooting).”
We are engaged in a comprehensive, independent investigation into the
January 6 disturbance:
- February 2022: we filed an opposition
to the U.S. Capitol Police’s (USCP) effort to shut down our federal
lawsuit for January 6 videos and emails. Through its police department,
Congress argues
that the videos and emails are not public records, there is no public
interest in their release, and that “sovereign immunity” prevents
citizens from suing for their release.
- In November 2021: we – in our FOIA lawsuit asking for records of
communication between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and several
financial institutions about the reported transfer of financial transaction
records of people in DC, Maryland and Virginia on January 5 and January 6,
2021 – told a federal court that the FBI
may have violated law in its January 6 probes.
The liberal Big Media, the compromised Biden administration, and the
complicit Pelosi Congress have zero interest in justice for the killing of
Ashli Babbitt. Judicial Watch, with your support, is proud to step
into this accountability gap to demand the truth.
Judicial Watch Reveals Biden Administration Propaganda Plan for
COVID Vaccine
Judicial Watch just uncovered a major document about the Biden
administration’s propaganda effort to push the COVID vaccines.
We received 249
pages of records from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
detailing extensive media plans for a propaganda campaign.
We received the records in response to an August 2021 FOIA lawsuit
we filed after HHS failed to respond to an April 19, 2021 request for
records related to the Biden HHS’ “COVID-19
Community Corps” program (Judicial
Watch v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No.
1:22-cv-02315)).
We asked for all records regarding the application process; all
organizations asking to be chosen to participate; all grants; and all
communications of representatives of the Department of Health and Human
Services regarding the program.
The newly released records include a
document titled “PEC [Public Education Campaign] Plan April 19 -May
31 [2021],” which includes the following media plans and action items:
Major [Public Education] Projects in April
- Vaccine engagement package to all entertainment talent and management
agencies
- Vaccine engagement package to all media companies and show
producers
- Outreach to major culture event producers
- Outreach with WCDT [likely We Can Do This] brand and engagement ideas
to major businesses and associations
- Launch Community Corps Business Chapter
- Start celebrity Share the Mics
***
POTUS May 1-31
- Late night hosts vaccination video.
***
Additional Ideas to be Considered
Digital Media
- Produce HHS question-and-answer videos featuring local Black doctors
discussing the vaccines, how they work, and why the public should get
vaccinated
- Request that Tom Brady create a video with his parents encouraging
vaccination (his parents had COVID last year and he has talked about their
tough recovery).
- Create custom partnerships with the social media platforms with
algorithms to hit the audience.
- Launch Hollywood comedy writers video content.
***
- Work with YouTube on an original special about vaccinations targeted
to young people (similar to the YouTube’s Dear Call of 2020
special).
- Work with Instagram to produce a series about vaccines for @Instagram
(the largest social media account in the world, 387 million followers).
Feature young creators doing in-depth pieces about young people’s
questions. Request a Stories Highlight on Vaccines on @Instagram to stay on
the account through 2021.
- Request major TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram influences to create
videos of themselves being vaccinated and start a special campaign of funny
and/or musical videos about being vaccinate to encourage others to create
content and post.
Earned Media
- Request a vaccination special on Christian Broadcast Network
featur[ing] Evangelical leaders.
- Request that the major live TV entertainment shows feature hosts being
vaccinated on air (ex: the hosts of The Voice).
- Request that the TV morning and daytime talk shows feature special
vaccination reunion moments with everyday Americans talking about what this
means to them (ex: hugging grandma for the first time).
- Convene an editorial meeting with the publishers of Catholic
newspapers and newsletters across the country (ex: America Magazine,
Florida Catholic, The Catholic Spirit, The Tablet).
- Dr. Biden interview with Chip and Joanna Gaines for Magnolia.
- Request vaccination specials with BET, The Undefeated, Desus & Mero,
Sneaker Shopper Hot Ones.
- Request a vaccination special With Christian Broadcasting Netflix and
Evangelical leaders.
- Place a trusted messenger on the Joe Rogan Show and Barstool Sports to
promote vaccination (work with outside expert to identify who will be most
effective).
Partnerships
- Work with the NFL, NASCAR, MLB, CMA to request they create content
with their talent and release through their broadcast and social
channels. Also create a Share the Mic program where the talent
elevates public health voices.
- Work with all major sports leagues to send vaccination information to
ticket holders
- Work with ESPN for hosts to provide vaccination information.
- Partner with Disneyland Parks for vaccination events when the
amusement parks reopen.
- Work with the Hollywood guilds to work vaccination messaging into
scriped and reality TV shows (ex: Writers Guild, Directors Guild.)
These records show a disturbing and massive campaign by the Biden
administration to propagandize and politicize the controversial COVID
vaccine. It seems as if the entire entertainment industry was an agent for
the government!
Millions in DHS ‘Terrorism Prevention’ Grants go to Promote
‘Media Literacy'
Our Corruption Chronicles blog has disturbing details
about the expanding Biden administration scheme to control and censor
Americans:
The agency created after 9/11 to protect the nation from another terrorist
attack is giving nonprofits, local governments, and academic institutions
millions of dollars to promote media literacy and combat what the Biden
administration considers to be “disinformation.” Among the recipients
of the grants awarded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a
center founded by former President Jimmy Carter to implement a “media
literacy curriculum” designed to mitigate the harms presented by
disinformation. In all, DHS will dole out around $7 million for its new
media literacy campaign, which is part of a broader and handsomely funded
initiative called Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Program (TVTP)
launched in 2020 to “prevent targeted violence and terrorism.”
This year DHS is doling out $20
million in grants to dozens of recipients to meet TVTP’s mission of
preventing incidents of domestic violent extremism, as well as to bolster
efforts to counter online radicalization and mobilization to violence. In
the press release announcing the $20 million investment, DHS Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency is equipping local communities and
organizations, including those “historically underserved,” with needed
resources to become more effective partners to strengthen security and help
Americans feel safe and secure. In the announcement DHS reveals that it
encouraged applicants from diverse groups and conducted extensive outreach
to a variety of public and nonprofit sectors. In fact, the agency writes
that among this year’s priorities is “advancing equity in awards and
engaging underserved communities in prevention.”
A chunk of the TVTP money—$7 million—will be dedicated to the media
literacy campaign, which will focus largely on combatting
“misinformation and disinformation.” The Carter Center, which was
founded by the former Democratic president, is getting $99,372 to implement
its media literacy curriculum. The goal is to address the gap in media
literacy education in the United States within a targeted violence and
terrorism prevention context to demonstrate the effectiveness in mitigating
the harms presented by disinformation, according to DHS. “This
partnership would allow The Carter Center to deploy its curriculum modules
over a two-year period in multiple classroom settings targeting a wide
population aged 18 to 60 years old,” DHS writes in its recent
announcement. “Media literacy trainings build capacities in evaluating
media sources, assessing media intent, interpreting media messages,
understanding how the brain processes information, understanding how online
media shapes perception, recognizing false and misleading information,
investigating suspicious claims, and practicing good media
hygiene.”
The University of Rhode Island will receive $701,612 to combat
disinformation, conspiracy theories and propaganda that have become
large-scale social problems shaping the ways citizens view facts, define
truth, and make decisions, according to DHS. The university will use the
taxpayer dollars to create initiatives that help people critically analyze
information, digital media, and popular culture to benefit all members of
society by “diminishing the appeal of us-vs-them thinking that activates
strong emotions and oversimplifies ideas and information.” The Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars will get $750,000 to create an
“educational digital game” designed to help students understand
different strategies used to spread disinformation and combat it at the
institutional level. The Uran Rural Action, a group that strives for a
“more inclusive democracy” across ideological and racial differences,
will receive $769,190 to create a “Local Prevention Framework.”
Above is just a sample of the groups that will fill their coffers with
public funds for this fictitious crisis created by the Biden administration
to control information. Many more are getting six figures from the
government for this nonsense. “Disinformation, conspiracy theories, and
propaganda have become large-scale social problems, shaping the way
citizens view facts, define truth, and make decisions,” according to the
DHS grant document.
Until next week…
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