Mother of Ashli Babbitt says Trump called her and told Jan. 6 rioters to 'keep their chins up'

WASHINGTON — The mother of a Jan. 6 rioter killed during the attack on the U.S. Capitol said she received a call from President-elect Donald Trump this week in which he sent a message to Jan. 6 defendants, saying he loved them and to "keep their chins up."

Micki Witthoeft, Ashli Babbit’s mother, said at a nightly vigil outside of the D.C. jail in support of Jan. 6 defendants on Wednesday that Trump had called her when she was in the back of an Uber with two other supporters of Jan. 6 defendants, coming back from laying down flowers in honor of her daughter.

“Tell them I love them, to keep their chins up,” Trump said when asked if he had a message for Jan. 6 defendants, according to Witthoeft.

"I know that he is still thinking about these guys, and I have a feeling it is going to be a happy day for us," when Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, Witthoeft said.

The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment. But Trump has called Witthoeft and into the vigil before, given financial support to Jan. 6 defendants and promised to pardon an untold number of them upon taking office.

"We have a lot to look forward to on Jan. 20, and God Bless America," Witthoeft said. "Trump town, baby!"

Trump has vowed to pardon some number of the more than 1,270 defendants who have been convicted on Jan. 6 charges ranging from unlawful parading to seditious conspiracy. There are more than 700 defendants who have either already completed their sentences or were never given any jail or prison time to begin with, which would give Trump an opportunity to pardon potential hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants without having much of a practical impact, beyond the message that such an action would send.

This week, an attorney for the Jan. 6 defendant serving the longest sentence — former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, who is serving 22 years after being convicted of seditious conspiracy — asked Trump for a full pardon.

While more than 1,580 defendants have already been arrested, that's only roughly half of the total number of defendants who could have been charged for either entering the Capitol or assaulting law enforcement officers outside the building.

In addition to those already charged, more than 200 people suspected of assaulting law enforcement officers have been identified, according to online “sedition hunters” who have aided the FBI in hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 rioters. While the statute of limitations on crimes committed on Jan. 6, 2021, doesn't expire until early 2026, it's unclear if the Trump administration will allow investigations into individuals accused of assaulting law enforcement officers that day to continue.