Ashli Babbitt a martyr? Her past tells a more complex story

By MICHAEL BIESECKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have sought to portray the woman who was shot by a police officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as a righteous martyr who was unjustly killed. But the life of the 35-year-old Air Force veteran from California, Ashli Babbitt, was far more complicated. In the months before her death, Babbitt had become consumed by pro-Trump conspiracy theories and posted angry screeds on social media. A Maryland woman also recounted to The Associated Press a 2016 road rage attack during which Babbitt repeatedly rammed her vehicle.