New, shocking revelations have emerged regarding the USCP officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt on January 6th, 2021. According to a new report, then-Lt. Michael Byrd, who claims to have saved “countless lives” that day, was paid tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money after the shooting and even demanded cash from a memorial fund meant for the families of slain officers.
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The report also reveals Byrd’s long history of professional misconduct. Naturally, after a House Oversight subcommittee requested more information, the USCP claimed it could not find any records associated with the officer’s disciplinary record. One Internal Affairs investigation involved him leaving his post to play cards.
ALSO SEE: Dems Pressured Capitol Police to Give Preferential Treatment to Officer Who Shot Ashli Babbitt
The 2001 investigation of Michael L. Byrd, 56, was the first known disciplinary case brought against the lieutenant who crept from his blind near the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021, and shot Babbitt to death. The 2001 incident is the fourth such disciplinary case disclosed since Nov. 20.
A source with detailed knowledge of the Internal Affairs Division case told Blaze News that Byrd was charged with abandoning his post, eating and drinking at his post, and lying to investigators — a terminable offense. It is one of three Byrd disciplinary cases for which records could not be found when a House oversight subcommittee requested them in early 2024, the source said.
According to sources, surveillance video proved that Byrd had committed the alleged breach of protocol. Instead of admitting to it, he ended up lying to investigators, leading to a recommendation that he be fired. USCP administrators never took action, though.
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The USCP disciplinary officer recommended that Byrd be fired.
“So they charge him with eating, drinking on post, abandoning post,” the source said. “They charge him with untruthful statements with the recommendation to terminate.”
Even with the evidence and firing recommendation, Capitol Police administration did not part ways with Byrd.
If that isn’t a perfect illustration of the federal government, I’m not sure what is. Byrd had multiple disciplinary investigations take place against him, with at least one involving a recommendation of termination, and he was still on the job in 2021 to shoot Ashli Babbitt. That leads me to the most disgusting part of these revelations. While other officers were paid $3,000 in retention bonuses following January 6th, Byrd was given $36,000. He was also reimbursed for another $21,000 in “security upgrades” for his home in Maryland and housed at Joint Base Andrews at a cost of $35,000 from July 2021 until January 2022.
Byrd was given $36,000 in unrestricted funds as a “retention bonus” in 2021, while other Capitol Police officers received around $3,000 each. Byrd was reimbursed for more than $21,000 in security upgrades for his personal residence in Prince George’s County.
Capitol Police paid to house Byrd at the Joint Base Andrews military facility from July 2021 until late January 2022 at a cost of more than $35,000, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch Inc. When he left the base for any reason, Byrd was provided with a Capitol Police dignitary protection detail, which a source told Blaze News could easily cost $425 per hour.
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This is where Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) comes into the picture. Sounding like a mob boss, the then-Speaker of the House ordered that Byrd be “taken care of.” The first thought was to promote him to a position requiring a top-secret security clearance. USCP General Counsel Tad DiBiase, who will come into play again momentarily, concluded that he likely couldn’t obtain one. Why? Because Byrd not only had serious financial issues, but he was on the USCP’s “Lewis List,” which is for officers with significant issues of integrity and credibility who can not be relied upon in criminal trials.
This story gets even worse, though. According to emails exchanged with DiBiase, despite being paid tens of thousands of dollars that other officers didn’t get after January 6th, Byrd was still desperate for more. He went so far as to demand money from a Memorial Fund set up for the widows of slain officers. Now, I’m no expert, but I’m fairly certain Byrd is still alive.
There was an early plan to provide Byrd with a payment from the Capitol Police Officers Memorial Fund, which was founded to honor fallen officers and support their survivors. Byrd expressed frustration that the fund was being opened to officers who were injured on Jan. 6.
“What you proposed could take months,” Byrd wrote in an email to DiBiase at 8:47 p.m. Nov. 16, 2021. “Our expectation was that this would be done soon. Now you’re telling me we got to wait for the rest of the department to even file claims, get evaluated and go through the process we have endured for months.
“That is blatantly wrong to treat us like this,” Byrd wrote. “This was never proposed to us in this manner. Now we’re being grouped in with everyone else. Wow! This is really bad for you all to do this when you know we’re expecting to have funds soon. So disappointing!”
In a reply email one minute later, DiBiase was taken aback by Byrd’s attitude.
“I’m sorry you are disappointed,” DiBiase wrote. “I find that surprising since we have already provided you $36,000 in unrestricted retention funds. You know what the rest of the department is receiving? $3,000 each. Yes, you are being lumped in with the other 91 officers who suffered injuries that day. The Memorial Fund is for the entire department, not one officer.”
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Byrd would go on to complain that his wife was “vividly upset” by the news, noting that he hadn’t gotten permission yet to set up a “GoFundMe” to collect more money. This is insane stuff. Byrd was not injured on January 6th, yet he complained that the fund was being opened up to officers who were, describing himself as being “grouped in with everyone else.”
Ultimately, Byrd was promoted to Captain despite his record and the questionable nature of his decision to shoot Babbitt, having received a windfall of cash from taxpayers in the aftermath. This was and is a clearly corrupt and disturbed individual who should have been fired long before he raised his service pistol on January 6th. Byrd’s troubled history is a testament to the sheer corruption of the United States federal government, and he serves as a microcosm of just how bad things are in the bureaucratic state.
