Rubén Gallego: “Ashli Babbitt was a traitor. She was a traitor to this country. She was part of the violent mob that tried to overthrow…”

“Ashli Babbitt was a traitor. She was a traitor to this country. She was part of the violent mob that tried to overthrow our democracy. I was there on January 6, as so many of my colleagues in the House and Senate were. I remember hearing the pounding on the doors of the House Chamber and seeing my colleagues barricading the doors, with furniture, to stop the insurrectionists from breaking in and disturbing and stopping democracy's day. I remember looking around, thinking about my family, and seeing the mob and what they were willing to do. Ashli was leading the pack. She carried a ParaForce knife, a weapon. She pushed to the front of the crowd, ignored repeated orders from Capitol Police to stop, and she pushed through a locked door and barricaded door. She was part of the mob that smashed through the windows into the Speaker's lobby, and then she tried to even force her way in. She didn't die protecting our country; she died trying to tear it down. Military honors are sacred. They are reserved for the men and women who swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the rule of law and actually lived up to it. To give them to Babbitt would be a spit in the face to all of them and to every veteran who died defending this country. I took that very same oath 25 years ago when I joined the U.S. Marine Corps. I saw what real service and dedication and sacrifice looked like in Iraq. I saw marines dying holding the line so others may have a chance to live.”