Did President Joe Biden pardon Michael Byrd, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who allegedly killed Ashli Babbitt during the January 6, 2021, protest? No, that's not true: None of the pardons he issued mentioned Byrd directly. Also, the blanket pardon Biden signed for police officers from the Capitol Police who testified before the January 6 Select Committee didn't cover Byrd because he didn't testify.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on January 20, 2025. The post's caption said:
Ashli Babbitt was an Air Force veteran who served this country for 12+ years and won awards for her Iraq service.
Ashli was 5'2'', 115 pounds, unarmed. Lt. MICHAEL BYRD shot her in the neck.
Biden just pardoned him.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Mon Jan 20 17:36:28 2025 UTC)
This post provided no evidence to support the assertion that Biden pardoned Byrd. An August 26, 2021, NBC News report (archived here) identified Byrd as Babbitt's shooter. In an interview with network news anchor Lester Holt, he said, "I was doing my job."
Biden's pardons
The U.S. Justice Department website (archived here) lists the pardons issued during the Biden administration.
Using Google Advanced Search on January 20, 2025, Lead Stories found "no results" for the term "Michael Byrd" on the Department of Justice page for "Pardons Granted by President Joseph Biden." A screenshot of the search results is found below:
(Source: Google screenshot taken on Mon Jan 20 19:31:02 2025 UTC)
Biden also granted general clemency to police officers from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department or the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) who testified before the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. A screenshot of the pardon appears below:
(Source: Justice Department screenshot taken on Mon Jan 20 19:16:21 2025 UTC)
While Byrd is a member of the USCP, Lead Stories found no evidence in any of the available records of the select committee's work -- the committee's website (archived here), the select committee's final report (archived here) and the Government Publishing Office official record (archived here) -- that he testified.
Lead Stories used Google Advanced Search on all three sources on January 20, 2025, but couldn't find Byrd's name in any of them.
(Source: Google screenshot taken on Mon Jan 20 22:02:45 2025 UTC)
(Source: Google screenshot taken on Mon Jan 20 22:07:59 2025 UTC)
(Source: Google screenshot taken on Mon Jan 20 22:13:09 2025 UTC)
Lead Stories refers to him as the alleged killer of Babbitt because Byrd was never charged with a crime or disciplined for his role in her shooting death. In an April 14, 2021, press release (archived here), the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice said it would not pursue criminal charges against "the officer" in the fatal shooting. The press release, which did not identify Byrd by name, added:
The investigation revealed no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully committed a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242. Specifically, the investigation revealed no evidence to establish that, at the time the officer fired a single shot at Ms. Babbitt, the officer did not reasonably believe that it was necessary to do so in self-defense or in defense of the Members of Congress and others evacuating the House Chamber. Acknowledging the tragic loss of life and offering condolences to Ms. Babbitt's family, the U.S. Attorney's Office and U.S. Department of Justice have therefore closed the investigation into this matter.
Byrd was also exonerated in Babbitt's death by the USCP in a formal investigation. The August 23, 2021, press release (archived here) said:
USCP's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) determined the officer's conduct was lawful and within Department policy, which says an officer may 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.
Read more
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol can be found here.
