So the police officer who shot the loopy woman at the front of the mob which was, quite literally, calling outside for Mike Pence to be found and hung, has revealed himself in an interview and made some salient points:
The far-right has characterized Babbitt as a martyr, with former President Donald Trump himself saying in a statement that she was "murdered at the hands of someone who should never have pulled the trigger of his gun."
Byrd told Holt that Trump's statement was "disheartening."
He said of Trump: "If he was in the room or anywhere and I'm responsible for him, I was prepared to do the same thing for him and his family."
Exactly. The gun happy, Trump loving wingnuts are into shooting for self defence in all circumstances except when its them who are doing the threatening.
Its absurd and somewhat nauseating to hear them approve of no action against scores of police officers who have shot black men stopped on the street, but when its a black man who shot at a white mad woman at the front of a violent mob, it's all meant to be so unfair and unjust.
More from the article:
The interview was released three days after the police force announced that Byrd acted within department policy on Jan. 6 and would not face disciplinary action. The department allows officers to "use deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes that action is in the defense of human life, including the officer's own life, or in the defense of any person in immediate danger of serious physical injury."
That followed an April decision from the Justice Department that said it would not seek charges against Byrd.
I see that David Roberts thinks it's a bad idea, this guy going public.
I think it's pretty brave, and will perhaps help bring to a head some of the absurdity within the Republican Party. If they want to continue attacking him now, they can't use his non appearance as suggesting he knows he's guilty and won't defend himself.
Update: just appalling:
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