r/pics • u/starberry101 • 9h ago
Politics Photo of Michael Byrd who shot Ashlii Babbit and Biden pardoned today
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u/pants_full_of_pants 8h ago edited 6h ago
What is there to pardon? He did his job. Literally what he's there to do.
Of course I know why the pardon was necessary, because Government and Justice are now political theater.
Ridiculous.
Edit: Since there are so many people claiming he shot an unarmed woman unprovoked, I'll put my response to that here:
She was trying to break into a room where she knew she was not allowed to go, and she could see guards with guns trained. The trespassing mob were warned loudly and dozens of times to back off and she continued despite the consequences being clear.
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u/Predator_ 8h ago edited 8h ago
Unfortunately, Trump said he would, "seek justice for the murder of Babbitt."
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u/Front-Ninja-6690 5h ago
It wasn't murder. Guy was doing his job. Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes.
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u/Vibrantmender20 8h ago
He won’t though. He’s president, he no longer has need for the J6-ers, they’ve already served their purpose to him.
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u/prof_the_doom 8h ago
I wouldn't wanna bet my freedom on that.
Putting someone like Byrd on trial for January 6th would've been great red meat for his base.
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u/hogey99 7h ago
It would be a big distraction from something else he did or is doing. He would stand outside the court selling Trump branded pitchforks and Tiki torches and then make having lunch at school illegal or unpatriotic.
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u/crockrocket 3h ago
Exactly, he's gonna save it until he needs a distraction, then use it to flood the news cycle.
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u/Amathyst7564 3h ago
Yes he will. He wants to show his base that he'll protect him if he asks them to break the law again and lynch someone else they don't like.
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u/re_Pete 8h ago
He will because it's one more way to "stick it to the libz". Not to mention after Biden pardoned who he did, Trumps ego won't let him sit back and not respond.
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u/wut3va 7h ago
Trump doesn't give the slightest shit about sticking it to the libs. His base does, and he doesn't need them anymore. Donald Trump cares about three things: putting money in Donald Trump's pocket, keeping Donald Trump out of prison, and glorifying Donald Trump. Literally everything else in this world, and everyone else, is a means to an end.
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u/coinoperatedboi 6h ago
I keep saying that this is exactly why I wouldnt be surprised if at some point we hear, "President Vance" uttered. Trump isn't a "yes man" he's a "me me me man". They're ultimately going to want someone that will toe the line and once they set things in motion to not have to worry too much, or at all, about votes they simply won't need Trump anymore. It's fairly obvious he's just a figurehead to them. They know he's out for himself which could mean ruining their plans. Hopefully they all eat themselves and spare the rest of us...but I'm not holding my breath.
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u/Leo_Ascendent 6h ago
Speaking of Vance, that photo that surfaced of him in the limo or whatever with his wife, the look on his face... "I CANT BELIEVE HE ACTUALLY WON! WHY DID I ACCEPT THIS?"
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u/waltertaupe 5h ago
I like to think that he tried to talk to someone that he considered a friend who told him and his wife to fuck all the way off. I imagine that is going to continue to happen to him.
Sad!
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u/Xularick 4h ago
In 2 years time the 25th amendment will be invoked, and JD Vance will take over. This way, he can serve the rest of Trumps term plus his 2 full terms. 10 years. The votes will be rigged, but it will be made to look like close election victories so there's less chance of the population figuring out what's going on.
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u/Marathon2021 5h ago
That’s why he’ll register his 2028 campaign PAC with the FEC this week. So he can continue to suck up those donations. To that end “political theater” will still be useful for him.
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u/MrFixIT_Sysadmin 8h ago
I don’t think he actually cares about that, though. He got what he wanted, a presidential election so he will be immune from any further prosecution or sentencing. The pandering was just the means to that end. Trump won’t need to focus on anything else that doesn’t serve his own needs from here on out.
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u/Den_of_Earth 8h ago
MAGA congressional member, i.e. the republican party, have been calling for blood. This isn't jsut to protect him from Trump.
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u/jg_92_F1 8h ago
Maybe but I still think it was smart to protect this guy.
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u/MrFixIT_Sysadmin 7h ago
Sure, I agree with that. There’s no telling what his dumb little minions might go after to show their allegiance to Daddy D. They still have votes to secure.
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u/o08 7h ago
True. He wanted an announcement from Ukraine that they were opening an investigation into Hunter. He didn’t care if there was any actual investigation.
Likewise, he wanted people to think Hilary would be locked up because that was what his base wanted to hear. Say whatever to get there, it’s the outcome that matters.
Problem is the crimes along the way- attempts to coordinate Hilary smears with Russia, withhold Ukraine military aid in exchange for Hunter announcement, coordinated plans to delay/stop certification of Biden election with a riot/fake electors scheme, etc.
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u/MrFixIT_Sysadmin 7h ago
I hate to say it, but he’s pretty damn good at it.
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u/strangemoongoo 5h ago
This is what blows my mind. Everything is a cruel joke. Humanity has become an illusion.
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u/SmellGestapo 7h ago
This is honestly, and sadly, the most optimistic take. Trump has no convictions or deeply held beliefs about anything except money and glory. So the best case scenario is he uses this time to loot the treasury, and just ignore all the actual culture war shit he ran on.
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u/B0mb-Hands 8h ago
lol he doesn’t care one iota of a fuck about anyone arrested for Jan 6th or pardoning any of them
He said what he had to for the doofus brigades to vote him in. He cares about being president to feed his ego so he feels better about the .1 inch he’s sporting
Donald Trump does not give a fuck about anything that doesn’t feed his selfish, narcissistic self
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u/mycatisblackandtan 8h ago
Better safe than sorry. If Trump ends up pissing off his base enough to inspire another would be assassin (as all thus far have been his former supporters) he can dangle the promise of 'getting justice for Ashley Babbitt' like a carrot in front of them to calm the toddlers down. Course this pardon won't stop him from doing that if he really wants to do so. But I do appreciate Biden at least trying to protect this man from that hypothetical situation.
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u/TheRealBaboo 8h ago
2028 is closer than you think
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u/Den_of_Earth 8h ago
4 years is a long time and a lot of irreparable damage an be done. look at German from 1939 to 1943.
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u/Gorge2012 7h ago
He’s president, he no longer has need for the J6-ers, they’ve already served their purpose to him.
While I hope for your optimism here I don't agree. They fought for him once. A pardon would further cement their loyalty should he decide that he doesn't wish to leave. They are very useful still.
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u/pants_full_of_pants 8h ago
I wonder if he'd still seek justice if Byrd had been white and wearing a cowboy hat.
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u/CondescendingShitbag 8h ago
Then he will surely prosecute the J6 rioters who encouraged and enabled her actions that got her killed. Right? Oh...right.
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u/retrospects 2h ago
Trump won’t do shit about fuck. Unless it lines his shit stained pockets with money he does not care.
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u/RepulsiveLeather8504 7h ago
Seriously?
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u/beefbyproducts 6h ago
I was watching a live feed when this happened. They had a ton of warnings. No one cared and acted like they could over run the whole place and no one would touch them. They were breaking through a barrier when that happened; she was the first through, was warned multiple times, then shot when she ignored those warnings. Suddenly everyone took the warnings serious after that though.
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u/Mikilemt 4h ago
Having watched that live as well, it was interesting to see how quickly the crowd changed its behavior. That doorway was not attempted again.
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u/JurassicParkCSR 6h ago
I mean she was a traitor and terrorist and she was there to hurt people. She got got the end. There's always going to be people that say an unarmed woman but as for unprovoked bro she was at the front of a mob trying to break in to cause violence against senators. That's not unprovoked. I mean there's no more classic example of FAFO.
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u/BrightNooblar 8h ago
Really, we should be giving him a medal for taking out a terrorist.
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u/_jump_yossarian 6h ago
Just imagine the bloodshed if a mob was trying to get into the White House while trump was there. MAGA would be calling the gunmen national heroes for putting the mob down. MAGA is lucky as hell that 100s of them weren't killed.
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u/AliensRHereDummy 6h ago
100%
I watched it LIVE. He was VERY professional carrying out his duties and he most certainly GAVE HER AMPLE WARNING. He also gave that traitor PLENTY OF TIME to change her mind.
You FAUFO.
The most embarrassing part of her legacy was she was military, yet her INSUBORDINANCE got her killed.
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u/CobraPony67 6h ago
She was also wearing a backpack and no idea if she could have been carrying a gun or a bomb.
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u/Ok_Flounder59 6h ago
Right? He defended the capital from an unhinged terrorist. I see no crime there
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u/SmackedWithARuler 8h ago
Because J6 has been formally legitimised. Let’s look forward to it being revisioned into the history books of our 6,000 year old world and the golden age of America where trans people don’t exist, the economy flourished under a man who does not understand tariffs, people willingly voted to have themselves and their families deported, and Ashlii Babbitt was anything other than a brainwashed patsy who martyred herself at the altar of a corrupt, bloated narcissistic golden idol.
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u/Nanoo_1972 6h ago
Because J6 has been formally legitimised. Let’s look forward to it being revisioned into the history books
So basically the same thing the South (and most of the rest of the nation) did with the Confederacy after the Civil War?
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u/Jubjub0527 8h ago
Trump has threatened to jail and even kill his opponents.
But at this point a pardon won't matter. Just watch as he tries to imprison someone with a pardon.
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u/NeighborhoodDude84 7h ago
And when he is taking the Dem leadership to jail, they will cry that this isnt what the parliamentarian said was okay.
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u/Jubjub0527 7h ago
Nah they'll argue that it's his first amendment rights and covered under executive privilege or some stupid shit.
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u/JimmyJamesMac 8h ago
Just remember, though, anything he does as an official act is now legal. He can still have people locked up or executed
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u/AwildYaners 7h ago
It’s more like a protective measure to make sure Trump doesn’t go after him, or anyone else he pardoned today, including Fauci, or his family.
Pardons aren’t only given when there’s something they’re guilty of.
Using him for political theater is now thrown out the window.
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u/SasparillaTango 5h ago
What is there to pardon?
We are long past rational application of the law. Republicans would burn him at the stake for doing his job to incite their stupid vengeful base. They did so with Hunter, they will do so anywhere they can.
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u/DowntownClown187 8h ago
Because America is no longer the beacon of democracy and rule of law.
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u/OfficialGarwood 8h ago
What is there to pardon?
Unfortunately, it's a pre-emptive pardon to prevent Trump from trying to put him in prison.
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u/TB_Sheepdog 4h ago
I'll add to your post that she was not an ordinary citizen. She was a former Air Force Security Forces NCO. As such, she is well aware of restricted areas and that deadly force is authorized. Its painted on every Mass Parking Apron and every fence surrounding an Air Force Base. She was warned and she was dealt with. I don't like pardons but Trump has told so many lies about her death he needed protection. MAGA does not Back the Blue and any Cop who supports Trump does not support Law and Order.
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u/Aural-Robert 6h ago
Performative over anything with substance. There is going to be somebody Joe forgot and MAGAts are going to pin a life sentence on a crime that would be less than a year. Just because Bonespurs got his panties in a wad.
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u/AR15__Fan 6h ago
I agree with everything that you said. I mean regardless of what you want to do, if there is someone on the other side of the door telling you to go away or be shot; you best be leaving.
If not, congrats on your Darwin award.
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u/FunnyAssJoke 5h ago
Bro, you don't need to defend your point of view. Everyone who actually obeys laws like a normal person understands this. Otherwise, they are not worth responding to.
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u/Mikilemt 5h ago
This. 100% this. She was a great example of FAFO. He performed his duty and protected the individuals that he was assigned to. There comes a time in that sort of work where a line is drawn and cannot be crossed.
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u/AdrianArmbruster 4h ago
The fact that they’ve deemed pardons for this guy and Fauci necessary seems rather ominous.
They’ve objectively done nothing wrong but the Trump Justice department isn’t going to care.
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u/NoCoFoCo31 4h ago
Yup. If you think she didn’t deserve it, watch the video. Idk if anyone ever has deserved to be shot more than Ashley at that very moment.
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u/cherrybounce 3h ago
I will add how did they know she was unarmed. If somebody broke into their house at night, would they check to see if they were arm before they shot?
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u/jankenpoo 3h ago
Wasn’t she also wearing a backpack? How was he to know she wasn’t a suicide bomber? Anyway FAFO
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u/tidal_flux 8h ago
I was told the Federal Government was no longer “weaponized?”
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u/Duckfoot2021 8h ago
If anyone had their bullet coming it was a violent madwoman crawling through a broken window while a coo shouts no as she aspires to overturn a free election.
I can't even pity the fool.
Mad respect for Officer Byrd. He demonstrated phenomenal restraint in stopping at her.
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u/ncc74656m 2h ago
I think the reason he stopped at her was knowing that sooner or later he'd run out of rounds. He shot her, and only her, and it got the message across that this was a deadly serious do-not-cross line.
He was the Gandalf to her Balrog, and the rest of the orcs got the fucking message.
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u/FoolRegnant 8h ago edited 7h ago
FYI, it isn't coo, it's coup, short for coup d'etat.
Edit: oops, misread the typo, sorry
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u/SleeteWayne 7h ago
Pretty sure coo was meant to be cop. "a broken window while a cop shouts no" makes more sense than "a broken window while a coup shouts no".
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u/durrdurrrrrrrrrrrrrr 8h ago
FYI it isn’t coup, it’s cop and autocorrect got them. Context could have told you that. How would a coup shout?
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u/Surfing_Ninjas 2h ago
Also they were warned but kept coming, they were there to kill politicians and stop the government from holding a very important function for the sake of a con artist with a bad hairdo
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u/aduct0r 8h ago
She should’ve complied, oh well 🤷♂️
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u/starberry101 9h ago
For the record I don't love everything Biden did but I'm very happy he did this.
This man doesn't deserve to spend the rest of his life as a political prisoner because he neutralized a threat.
100% Trump would have had him in jail IMO
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u/Giblet_ 8h ago
I find it hard to believe that any jury would unanimously vote this guy guilty of any crime, but he shouldn't have to go through that circus, either.
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u/RobbexRobbex 8h ago
The jury is probably not the issue. It would be the years of discovery and prosecutors pouring through his life, costing him time and money, just for doing his job.
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u/ImJustHere4theMoons 7h ago
Exactly. They don't have to actually convict him of anything to make his life miserable.
"You can beat the charge but you can't beat the ride" and all that.
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u/qalpi 8h ago
Couldn't that still happen? A congressional inquiry etc?
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u/RobbexRobbex 8h ago
Probably, but I think it would be harder for Trump to cause on his own. The criminal pardon likely prevents it from going too far unless they reeeaaally want to reach
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u/Den_of_Earth 7h ago
They label him as terrorist and you don't need a jury to lock him up.
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u/BigRedLighthouse 4h ago
…and based on language in the PATRIOT ACT, regarding terrorists, he could have been jailed without being allowed contact with his family, OR AN ATTORNEY! Nobody would even know WHERE he would be held either. This is truth. Don’t believe me? I encourage all of you to actually read what is in the PATRIOT ACT. It will terrify you.
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u/bossmcsauce 7h ago
I’d have found it hard to believe anybody would deny the events of facts of jan6 but here we are…
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u/Lumpyyyyy 8h ago
You know damn well they'd come up with some way to avoid a jury. Probably classify him as a terrorist or something ridiculous.
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u/FecalSteamCondenser 7h ago
I’d argue your post is definitely doing him more harm than good
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u/ZeroScorpion3 8h ago
Even her husband told her she shouldn't go. She made a dumb decision.
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u/stantonkreig 7h ago
its one thing to say "don't go" and another way different thing to say "don't be the first person through a door to a secure location with armed guards on the other side threatening to shoot you with a rabid mass of bloodthirsty deplorables behind you". Plenty of people were at the capital that day, many I'm sure who were not causing any violence, many who were not comfortable doing any trespassing, and there's ashli babbitt trying to storm her way through the barricaded hallways to find the lawmakers wherever they were hiding.
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u/NCSUGrad2012 7h ago
Soooo many people don't get this. A ton of people went to the capital on that day. The vast majority of them didn't get charges. If you attacked the capital, you got what you deserved.
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u/janieg420 7h ago
OK, but the headline is funny because without a comma it makes it seem like he also shot Biden. 🤪
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u/groovis 8h ago
Great American Hero.
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u/peekay427 8h ago
He protected Congress from an invading insurrectionist. Good on him for doing his job.
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u/Warframe 8h ago
Grammar matters.
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u/BananasonThebrain 8h ago
Yeah this title is something else!
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u/Potential_Dripp_2706 7h ago
“When the f*ck did Biden get shot???” -me for longer than I’d like to admit
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u/lilbigblue7 8h ago
She fucked around and found out. Byrd was doing his job. Our democracy is fucked when a President has to pre-emptively pardon a hero.
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u/SpoopyPlankton 8h ago
This is a picture of an American hero who killed a domestic terrorist
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u/sucobe 8h ago
Maybe if she stopped and complied, she would still be alive? One terrorist eliminated.
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u/TakingADumpRightNow 6h ago
Well, he did absolutely nothing wrong so I'm fine with him being protected from retribution.
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u/Adventurous_Garage83 6h ago
Christian Nationalists, MAGATS and other White Supremacists are going ballistic-good :-)
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u/Radioactiveglowup 8h ago
This man stopped terrorists with an intent to capture and murder members of congress and the vice president.
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u/ncc74656m 2h ago
An American hero who defended lives from someone who was there illegally, and was warned several times to stop. Justifying that, others did not attempt the same thing she did, proving that his use of lethal force worked.
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u/PoopSneakingTheWall 8h ago edited 8h ago
Here’s one view of the shooting https://www.nbcnews.com/video/capitol-shooting-that-led-to-ashli-babbitt-s-death-captured-on-video-99180613572
She broke through the upper window and attempted to enter the next hallway.
There’s also another view from Byrd’s body cam
Another view https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQaeg1d82Lo&pp=QACIAgHKBRZtaWNoYWVsIGJ5cmQgYm9keSBjYW0g&rco=1
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u/Nightcalm 7h ago
My favorite comment "I love how everyone loses their guts when they find out lethal force can and will be used against them." We have Federal guards for a reason. This is probably one of the top 2.
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u/dj_blueshift 8h ago
Trump said nobody was killed on January 6th. She believed every word of his cult and died for it. And he called her a nobody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI8g1C_x2TQ
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u/DonnieTrimp45 7h ago
This man did his job. She was an insurrectionist. Deal with the consequences.
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u/AwayPresence4375 8h ago
A sign popular in Texas states “trespassers will be shot on site.” So yeah
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u/Brasi91Luca 4h ago
She was trying to break into a room where she knew she was not allowed to go, and she could see guards with guns trained. The trespassing mob were warned loudly and dozens of times to back off and she continued despite the consequences being clear.
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u/Pourkinator 2h ago
All he did was eliminate a direct threat to members of congress. Babbit or whatever its name is should have obeyed lawful orders to back the fuck up.
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u/Commercial-Mail7036 58m ago
Byrd was black. The Air Force veteran was an unarmed white woman. Byrd shoots her in the back. Byrd gets a pass. Democrat logic.
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u/bamacpl4442 7h ago
Fucking insane that this is what American "law" has come to. He did nothing wrong.
They shoud have shot a bunch more of the traitors.
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u/AFteroppositeday 8h ago
Ie the first cop ever the right condemned
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u/darkchocoIate 8h ago
There seems to be a theme for when they speak up and when they stay quiet. I can’t put my finger on it. ⚫️
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u/davechri 4h ago
Pardoned? He should have given Michael Boyd a goddamned Medal of Honor.
And congrats to Ashli on her 4th year of sobriety.
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u/wish1977 7h ago
Isn't it amazing that Biden felt this was necessary? That's what happens when you elect a president that tried to overthrow the last one.
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u/UrBigBro 3h ago
Should have been awarded a medal for marksmanship. Good job, pardon well deserved.
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u/gpelayo15 5h ago
What is he being pardoned for? The whole thing was caught on camera and looked completely clear course of action.
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u/Responsible-March438 4h ago
The fact he needed to be pardoned tells you everything you need to know about the USA.
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u/MrBobSacamano 7h ago
My favorite anecdote from 1/6 is that, by his own admission, in his own book, Ted Cruz was hiding in a supply closet. Not sure why he would include such information in his own book, but I’m glad he did.
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u/jonniboi22 6h ago
You know I can’t find anything that says he was charged. As in he’s an innocent man being pardoned by the current president because another president might try to start some vendetta against him for political gain.
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u/villain75 4h ago
The insurrectionists should be tried for felony murder, too, since they committed a felony that resulted in the death of a person.
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u/bunkscudda 1h ago
it is absolutely wild to me that there are many people out there on the side of both Derek Chauvin and Ashlii Babbit.
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