A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of the family of the murdered January 6th protester Ashli Babbitt will not go to trial until 2026, a judge ruled on Friday.
The Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes set a trial date of July 20, 2026, after lawyers for both Judicial Watch and the government said that the original 2025 timeline would not allow enough time for discovery.
The Hill has more details:
The parties initially requested a pretrial schedule in the $30 million suit that would stretch into 2027 before heading to trial around October or November of that year. Reyes rejected the proposal as “unacceptable” and directed them to create a timeline that would put the trial in December 2025 “at the latest.”
Despite submitting a new proposal, the parties told the judge that a December 2025 trial date might hinder efforts to obtain evidence from law enforcement, medical personnel and other witnesses in the case, which they said is expected to have “substantial” discovery.
“In light of these circumstances and the significance of this case, the Parties believe that a modest extension of the discovery period and trial date may be warranted,” they wrote in a Thursday joint statement to Reyes.
Reyes then said she would consider accepting an agreed upon trial date no later than June 2026. But at Friday’s hearing, after the parties said they were unavailable that June, the judge said the trial could begin in July.
As previously reported by The Gateway Pundit, the lawsuit was deliberately moved from Babbitt’s home city of San Diego to Washington D.C., where a far-left judge would preside over the case.
As readers will know, Babbitt was murdered in cold blood by Officer Mike Byrd as she protested the fraudulent results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6th.
Instead of being charged with murder and fired from his position, Byrd was exonerated following an investigation and has since been promoted to captain.
The lawsuit will focus on his extensive history of incompetence and misuse of firearms, as well as the many other extraordinary circumstances around her death.
Ashli’s mother, Micki Whitthoeft, gave us an interview earlier this year about the wrongful death lawsuit and the fight for justice for her beloved daughter.
You can read the interview in full here.
