<p>The Associated Press this week ran a 49-paragraph story some online have likened to a &#8220;smear&#8221; piece on Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old U.S. military veteran who was fatally shot by police in the Capitol during the January 6 riot.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ex-President Donald Trump and his supporters have sought to portray Ashli Babbitt as a righteous martyr. But the life of the Air Force veteran from California was more complicated than the heroic portrait presented by Trump and his allies,&#8221; AP reporter Michael Biesecker captioned his story on Babbitt.</p>
<p>The piece outlines, in painstaking fashion, an account from a woman who claims Babbitt harassed her and had an affair with her boyfriend. Babbitt was hit with criminal charges from slamming into the woman&#8217;s SUV. Readers only find out that the criminal charges were dropped against Babbitt, who claimed the crash was an accident, about three-quarters of the way into the piece; here&#8217;s the sum of that clarification: &#8220;A judge acquitted Babbitt on the criminal charges.&#8221;</p>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1awozwy r-18u37iz r-dnmrzs">
<div class="css-901oao r-1awozwy r-18jsvk2 r-6koalj r-37j5jr r-adyw6z r-1vr29t4 r-135wba7 r-bcqeeo r-1udh08x r-qvutc0" dir="auto">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ex-President Donald Trump and his supporters have sought to portray Ashli Babbitt as a righteous martyr. But the life of the Air Force veteran from California was more complicated than the heroic portrait presented by Trump and his allies.</p>
<p>My latest <a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AP</a>: <a href="https://t.co/Sly7HyPrjj">https://t.co/Sly7HyPrjj</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Michael Biesecker (@NewsDudeAP) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsDudeAP/status/1477908312670846980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Reporters and politicos online were quick to highlight the obvious media double-standard when covering unarmed fatalities with police involvement.</p>
<p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">&#8220;This [Associated Press] </span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">article about </span><span class="r-18u37iz"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1cvl2hr r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AshliBabbitt?src=hashtag_click">#AshliBabbitt</a></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">, a rioter killed by Capitol police on Jan. 6, is a remarkable act of victim-blaming,&#8221; posted Nick Gillespie. &#8220;Babbitt is neither a martyr nor a sinner and her messy personal life shouldn&#8217;t be used to imply she got what was coming.&#8221;</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This <a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AP</a> article about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AshliBabbitt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AshliBabbitt</a>, a rioter killed by Capitol police on Jan. 6, is a remarkable act of victim-blaming. Babbitt is neither a martyr nor a sinner and her messy personal life shouldn&#39;t be used to imply she got what was coming. <a href="https://t.co/Lu1SiBMKpL">https://t.co/Lu1SiBMKpL</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickgillespie/status/1478016579434688518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1s2bzr4">
<div id="id__upe2r0mkkn" class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-37j5jr r-1blvdjr r-16dba41 r-vrz42v r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en">
<p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">&#8220;There is a reason the regime will smear Ashli Babbitt over her &#8216;past&#8217; and promotes George Floyd as a martyr of excessive force,&#8221; Jack Posobiec wrote.</span></span></p>
<div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-37j5jr r-1blvdjr r-16dba41 r-vrz42v r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">There is a reason the regime will smear Ashli Babbitt over her &#8216;past&#8217; and promotes George Floyd as a martyr of excessive force</p>
<p>— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1478037602217467908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="css-901oao r-18jsvk2 r-37j5jr r-1blvdjr r-16dba41 r-vrz42v r-bcqeeo r-bnwqim r-qvutc0" dir="auto" lang="en">
<p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">&#8220;Liberals get enraged when news outlets dig up dirt on the past of unarmed victims of police shootings in order to show they were &#8216;no angels&#8217;: i.e. to justify the shooting,&#8221; highlighted Glenn Greenwald. &#8220;Apparently it&#8217;s OK sometimes: here&#8217;s HuffPost on how Ashli Babbitt was no angel.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Liberals get enraged when news outlets dig up dirt on the past of unarmed victims of police shootings in order to show they were &#8220;no angels&#8221;: i.e. to justify the shooting.</p>
<p>Apparently it&#8217;s OK sometimes: here&#8217;s HuffPost on how Ashli Babbitt was no angel:<a href="https://t.co/S88SyDthiw">https://t.co/S88SyDthiw</a></p>
<p>— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1478084512701722627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Why is the media obsessed with smearing Ashli Babbitt’s name almost a year after her passing?</p>
<p>— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACTBrigitte/status/1478090826366476292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Notably, the officer who fatally shot Babbitt, who stood at 5 feet, 2 inches, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ashli-babbitt-investigation-no-charges-for-officer/">never had any charges brought against him</a>. When the AP covered the death of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-us-news-ap-top-news-hip-hop-and-rap-houston-a55d2662f200ead0da4fed9e923b60a7">George Floyd</a>, the outlet ran a 55 paragraph story underscoring Floyd&#8217;s upbringing in poverty, his athletic talent, and how much he was beloved in his hometown. The AP notedly glossed over Floyd&#8217;s lengthy rap sheet &#8212; which totaled five sentences:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-87 paragraph-0-2-7"><em>Between 1997 and 2005, Floyd was arrested several times on drug and theft charges, spending months in jail. &#8230; In August 2007, Floyd was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Investigators said he and five other men barged into a woman’s apartment, and Floyd pushed a pistol into her abdomen before searching for items to steal. Floyd pleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced to five years in prison. By the time he was paroled, in January 2013, he was nearing 40.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The AP coverage on Floyd&#8217;s &#8220;complicated life&#8221; opened with the following anecdote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-87 paragraph-0-2-7"><em>Years before a bystander’s video of George Floyd’s last moments turned his name into a global cry for justice, Floyd trained a camera on himself.</em></p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-87 paragraph-0-2-7"><em>“I just want to speak to you all real quick,” Floyd says in one video, addressing the young men in his neighborhood who looked up to him. His 6-foot-7 frame crowds the picture.</em></p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-87 paragraph-0-2-7"><em>“I’ve got my shortcomings and my flaws and I ain’t better than nobody else,” he says. “But, man, the shootings that’s going on, I don’t care what ’hood you’re from, where you’re at, man. I love you and God loves you. Put them guns down.”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here&#8217;s how Babbitt&#8217;s &#8220;complex&#8221; story opened:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-55 Component-p-0-2-46"><em>The first time Celeste Norris laid eyes on Ashli Babbitt, the future insurrectionist had just rammed her vehicle three times with an SUV and was pounding on the window, challenging her to a fight.</em></p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-55 Component-p-0-2-46"><em>Norris says the bad blood between them began in 2015, when Babbitt engaged in a monthslong extramarital affair with Norris’ longtime live-in boyfriend. When she learned of the relationship, Norris called Babbitt’s husband and told him she was cheating.</em></p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-55 Component-p-0-2-46"><em>“She pulls up yelling and screaming,” Norris said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, recounting the July 29, 2016, road-rage incident in Prince Frederick, Maryland. “It took me a good 30 seconds to figure out who she was. … Just all sorts of expletives, telling me to get out of the car, that she was going to beat my ass.”</em></p>
<p class="Component-root-0-2-55 Component-p-0-2-46"><em>Terrified and confused, Norris dialed 911 and waited for law enforcement. Babbitt was later charged with numerous misdemeanors.</em></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

‘Remarkable Act Of Victim-Blaming’: AP Slammed For Running ‘Smear’ Piece On Ashli Babbitt. That’s Not What They Did For George Floyd.

‘Free’ Karmelo: Supporters Of Austin Metcalf’s Accused Killer Gather Outside Courthouse

Terrorist-Linked Dem Rides ‘Squad’ Support To Primary Victory

‘Economic Violence’: Dems Hold Presser Demanding Paid Time Off For Periods

Man Who Stabbed Teen To Death Over Bogus Racism Claim Learns His Fate

Kyle Busch’s Death Exposes The ‘Silent Killer’ Warning Signs Everyone Should Know

James Talarico Keeps Denying The Vegan Label. Video Suggests Otherwise.

News and Analysis

Ashli Babbitt

George Floyd

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Menu

— News and Analysis —

‘Remarkable Act Of Victim-Blaming’: AP Slammed For Running ‘Smear’ Piece On Ashli Babbitt. That’s Not What They Did For George Floyd.