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Micki Witthoeft (C) carrying a picture of daughter Ashli Babbitt outside the Capitol buildings on Thursday on the first anniversary of her death on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 in Washington, DC.
“Hell of a precedent that’s being set here,” one person said.
The U.S. Air Force will retroactively provide full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the insurrectionist killed while storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The move has triggered outrage as the Trump administration continues forcing transgender service members serving honorably out of uniform and rescinding their earned retirement benefits.
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In a letter dated August 15, Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lohmeier overturned a 2021 ruling that denied Babbitt, who served for more than a decade before settling in San Diego, military funeral honors. That earlier decision, issued shortly after the insurrection, said her actions “would bring discredit upon the Air Force.”
Related: Air Force veteran stripped of retirement under Trump’s transgender purge
Judicial Watch, a right-wing group that represented Babbitt’s family in a wrongful-death lawsuit, released the letter this week and declared victory. Babbitt’s ceremony will include a bugler playing “Taps”, a two-person honor guard, and a folded American flag presented to her family.
The reversal comes just months after the Trump administration agreed to pay nearly $5 million to settle the lawsuit brought by Babbitt’s family. The suit had initially sought $30 million. Investigators had cleared the Capitol Police officer who shot Babbitt, ruling the use of force lawful. Babbitt had become a cause célèbre on the right with President Donald Trump embracing her family and framing her as a victim. The settlement provided a payout to her estate and attorneys.
The Air Force’s decision stands in stark contrast to how the administration is treating transgender Americans who have worn the uniform. Earlier this month, the Air Force abruptly rescinded previously approved early retirements for transgender troops with 15 to 18 years of service. Those people had been forced to end their military careers involuntarily after Trump ordered the Pentagon to purge trans service members and ban them from joining the armed services.
The change, outlined in an August 4 memo signed by Air Force official Brian Scarlett, nullified all Temporary Early Retirement Authority approvals. That program had allowed service members separated before 20 years to retire with prorated pensions and lifetime medical benefits. Instead, transgender troops now face involuntary separation with severance pay and no retirement recognition.
One of those affected, Master Sgt. Logan Ireland told The Advocate that he had retirement orders in hand for December 1 when the Air Force revoked them without warning. “I felt solid,” Ireland said, “and then betrayed.”
Related: Air Force rescinds early retirement approvals for transgender service members kicked out by Trump
Advocates warn the policy will strip veterans of hundreds of thousands of dollars in long-term benefits while denying them the dignity of retirement after years of service.
“It feels like betrayal. I have never felt so betrayed in my life. I feel discarded,” Technical Sgt. Alyx Anguiano, whose approved early retirement was also rescinded, told The Advocate.
The juxtaposition is stark: a veteran who joined a violent mob to overturn a democratic election will receive full honors, while transgender Americans with decades of honorable service are denied the benefits they earned.
On Reddit’s r/Military forum, one user wrote, “Honoring treason is wild.” Another added: “F**king disgrace. Hell of a precedent that’s being set here.”
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