Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego created a firestorm yesterday, August 30, 2025, when he launched into a social media tirade against the woman who was the only person killed during the January 6, 2025, protest at the US Capitol. Gallego, who is currently on a national media tour rumored to be a feeler for a possible 2028 Presidential run, drew sharp criticism after issuing a string of incendiary remarks about former Air Force Senior Airman Ashli Babbitt. The 12-year veteran was fatally shot by Capitol Police Officer Lt. Michael Byrd during the events on January 6, 2021.

Babbitt, 35, served as a Security Forces airman with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates. Last week, the Air Force reversed its earlier decision, calling it “incorrect,” and confirming that Babbitt’s family would be offered full military funeral honors, citing her service record. That reversal has deepened the political fight regarding January 6th.

Gallego, a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq before entering politics, denounced both Babbitt and the decision to honor her. “She was a traitor. There was nothing honorable about her,” he said. “She should have complied. The next President should take away the honors given to Babbitt and demote her as well as change her status to dishonorable discharge.” When pressed further online, Gallego escalated his language. Responding to one poster who wrote, “Someone gets shot by police after resisting arrest and it’s a national tragedy. An unarmed woman gets shot standing up for democracy and you call her a traitor and dishonorable? Okay bud.”

Gallego replied, “Yes, she was scum,” and in another post, he said, “She FAFO.”

Arizona State Representative Nick Kupper, a former U.S. Air Force master sergeant, directly condemned Gallego, writing on X, “Ruben you’re a piece of crap.”

Representative John Gillette, who served a distinguished 35 years in the Army and retired as a Command Sergeant Major (CSM), also fired back at Gallego on X, opening with, “You are an absolute pile of shit…”

Military law experts note that stripping Babbitt’s honors or changing her discharge status would be highly unusual. In general, dishonorable discharges bar service members from receiving military funeral honors, but reversing or altering a veteran’s discharge posthumously is rare and usually requires significant legal action initiated by the family. Gallego has argued that a future president could order such a reversal and direct the Department of the Air Force to enact the change through internal regulations or administrative directives.

The clash highlights the enduring divisions over the legacy of January 6. For Gallego, who appears to have presidential aspirations, the fight also highlights the political risks associated with blunt rhetoric. Gallego has been criticized in the past for his unprofessional social media posts.