'This was cowardice': Ex-GOP rep blasts Trump after J6 rioter honored

A GOP former congressman blasted President Donald Trump's move on Thursday to honor a Jan. 6 rioter.

Patrick McHenry, who represented North Carolina's 10th district as a Republican from 2005 to 2025, discussed Trump's plan to provide a full military funeral to Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed inside the Capitol as she attempted to climb through a broken window into the Speaker's Lobby.

Full military funerals include playing the song "Taps," the presentation of the American flag, and a detail of uniformed military personnel.

The move to provide a full military funeral for Babbitt comes just a couple of months after the federal government paid Babbitt's family a $5 million settlement because of her death.

McHenry discussed the plans to give Babbitt a military funeral on Thursday with CNN's Kasie Hunt on "The Arena."

"This is not deserved," McHenry said. "Full military honors are primarily for those who gave their lives in defense of our country, and were truly defending our country.

"This is not an act of bravery," McHenry said of Babbitt's actions on Jan. 6. "This was an act of cowardice, and should not be rewarded with military honors."

Babbitt was an Air Force veteran. Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier sent Babbitt's family a letter on Aug. 15 saying the branch intends to reverse a Biden-era decision to deny them a military funeral, The Hill reported.

Right-wing advocacy organization Judicial Watch, which is headed by Tom Fitton, one of Trump's informal legal advisors, has been advocating for Babbitt to receive a military funeral, according to NBC News.

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