- Trump held his first rally of 2022 in Arizona on Saturday.
- The former president spewed falsehoods about the January 6 insurrection in his speech.
- Trump called the officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt a "disgrace" and an "out-of-control dope."
Former President Donald Trump called the Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol a "disgrace" and claimed the FBI was behind the insurrection.
In the first rally of the year in Florence, Arizona, Trump falsely claimed that Democrats wanted to "protect" the officer exonerated of wrongdoing in Babbitt's killing following an internal investigation.
"I watched this guy being interviewed, they wanted to protect him so they wanted to keep him. He couldn't get on television fast enough. The guy who shot Ashli Babbitt for no reason," Trump said.
Trump called the officer an"out-of-control dope" and a "disgrace."
"He's so proud of himself. Let's see how he could do without the protections that he got. And by the way, if that happened the other way around they'd be calling 'let's bring back the electric chair,'" Trump added, referencing Democrats.
Lt. Michael Byrd, a 28-year-veteran of the force, revealed his identity in an interview with NBC News in August, months after the insurrection.
Babbitt, who the night before the attack tweeted "Nothing will stop us. They can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours," was shot while trying to climb through a shattered window in front of the Speaker's Lobby.
Trump, however, went on to allege that the "real insurrection happened on Election Day" and alleged the FBI was behind the riot.
"They never talk about that crowd. They talk about the people that walked down to the Capitol. They don't talk about the size of that crowd. I believe it was the largest crowd I've ever spoken [to] before and they were there to protest the election," Trump said.
He added: "The fake news never talks about it. They never talk about it. Exactly how many of those present at the Capitol complex on January 6 were FBI confidential informants, agents, or otherwise directly or indirectly with an agency of the United States government. People want to hear this."