A planned march from the Ellipse to the Capitol is set to honor Ashli Babbitt and other Jan. 6-related deaths, with organizers calling for a peaceful demonstration.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is co-organizing a march to the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol complex, an event that led to criminal charges against him and roughly 1,500 others.
According to organizers, the march will begin at the Ellipse shortly before noon and proceed to the Capitol, where participants plan to place flowers in remembrance of those who died in connection with the events of Jan. 6. Tarrio said the demonstration is intended in part to honor Ashli Babbitt, a U.S. Navy veteran who was fatally shot by law enforcement while attempting to climb through a broken window of a barricaded door inside the Capitol as members of Congress were being evacuated.
“Join us as we march for Ashli on January 6th,” Tarrio wrote last month in a post on X, according to reporting by NBC News. “We also march in memory of those who passed away. 5 years ago a beautiful life was taken from us. A veteran and a patriot. So I ask those that are able to attend please do so.”
In the same post, Tarrio questioned whether the Department of Justice would take further action related to the shooting of Babbitt, referring to U.S. Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd, who fired the fatal shot during the riot.
“Justice has NOT been served and this would be the deadline for any criminal action against Michael Byrd. Will the DOJ respond?” Tarrio wrote.
Tarrio emphasized that the event is intended to be nonviolent. “This will be a PATRIOTIC and PEACEFUL march,” he said, adding that anyone intending to cause trouble should stay home. “This event will focus on one thing and one thing only…HER memory.”
A flyer shared by Tarrio states that the march will culminate at the Capitol, where participants plan to lay flowers in remembrance of those who died on Jan. 6, 2021.
President Donald Trump issued pardons for Jan. 6 defendants on his first day back in office last year. Tarrio, however, was not physically present in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. He was later convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges related to his role in planning the riot with other Proud Boys members and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The planned march comes amid heightened sensitivity around the anniversary of the Capitol riot, as federal and local authorities continue to monitor demonstrations tied to the event’s legacy and its ongoing political and legal fallout.
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