The U.S. Department of Justice’s pardon attorney told outgoing Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis to “go to hell” for his remark that Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt “deserved” to be shot and killed outside the U.S. House Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Hey, @SenThomTillis: remember when you said Ashli Babbitt ‘deserved it?’” wrote Ed Martin from his personal account on X. “In front of six witnesses, two of your staff. Deranged. Instead [of] back to North Carolina, just go to Hell. Good riddance.”
Earlier Thursday, Tillis (R-North Carolina), took a slap at Martin in a Politico article on the confirmation of the yet-to-be-named candidate for attorney general.
“I’ll scrub it when a nominee comes forward, and I’ll apply the Martin standard,” Tillis said. “By the way, I don’t think Martin is employed by the DOJ anymore, either, is he?”
Tillis helped sink the 2025 nomination of Martin for U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia over his support for Jan. 6 defendants and for representing some of them in their criminal cases. Tillis is not seeking re-election and will depart the Senate in January.
“Hopefully they’ll take me at my word when I say anybody who equivocated on the Jan. 6 rioters, I just can’t support,” Tillis said regarding attorney general nominees.
By the way, I don’t think Martin is employed by the DOJ anymore, either,
is he?”
Tillis’ comment that Babbitt “deserved it” came during discussions over President Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Martin for U.S. attorney. The remarks drew fire in May 2025 from Judicial Watch, which represented Babbitt’s widower in a $30 million civil suit for wrongful death and excessive force.
“What I found outrageous is his attack on Ashli Babbitt,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said at the time. “Senator Tillis should apologize to Ashli Babbitt’s family. Really, he should apologize.”
Tillis shot back at Martin on X, writing: “Being hated by idiots is the price you pay for not being one of them.”
Thursday’s dustup was the latest in a series of potshots taken at Babbitt, who was shot to death by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Leroy Byrd.
In late May 2025, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), called Babbitt a “domestic terrorist” who “attempted to overthrow our government” on Jan. 6. Weeks earlier, outgoing Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger claimed Babbitt “attacked the U.S. Capitol” and ignored police orders to stay out of the Speaker’s Lobby where she was shot at 2:44 p.m. on Jan. 6.
Aaron Babbitt has faced a nearly constant stream of lies about his late wife for more than five years. Video evidence shows Ashli Babbitt tried to quell violence in the Speaker’s Lobby and eventually put a stop to it by landing a left hook to the face of rioter Zachary J. Alam. She did not riot. While Byrd claimed he shouted at those in the lobby to “get back,” numerous witnesses surrounding Babbitt said they did not hear any warnings from inside the Speaker’s Lobby.
In June 2025, the DOJ agreed to pay $4.975 million to settle Babbitt family lawsuit, which said Byrd used excessive force, didn’t follow his training and was negligent when firing a single shot that caused Babbitt’s fatal injuries. The suit said after shooting Babbitt, Byrd lied on Capitol Police radio, claiming he was taking gunfire from protesters.•
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