Ahead of his summit with Joe Biden in G7 in Geneva, Switzerland, Russian President Vladimir Putin implied that the United States government had ordered the assassination of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by Capitol Police during the Capitol riot on January 6.
Putin made the comments during an interview with NBC News, in which he argued that the United States and Russia are similar in how they handle dissent.
“We have a saying: ‘Don’t be mad at the mirror if you are ugly,'” Putin said regarding the arrests and persecution of Capitol rioters. “It has nothing to do with you personally. But if somebody blames us for something, what I say is, why don’t you look at yourselves? You will see yourselves in the mirror, not us.”
When asked about the assassinations of political rivals in his country, Putin responded by implying that the United States had assassinated Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot.
“Secondly, I want to ask you: Did you order the assassination of the woman who walked into the Congress and who was shot and killed by a policeman?” Putin asked. “Do you know that 450 individuals were arrested after entering Congress? And they didn’t go there to steal a laptop. They came with political demands. Four hundred and fifty people have been detained. They’re facing jail time, from 15 to 20 years. And they came to Congress with political demands. Isn’t that prosecution for political opinions?”
WATCH: Russian President Putin calls out the US government for politically persecuting the Jan. 6 mob and provocatively implies the US government might have assassinated Ashli Babbit. pic.twitter.com/AUx9FBdEfK
— Election Wizard (@Wizard_Predicts) June 15, 2021
Recommended: The Capitol Riot Rorschach Test
Babbitt was unarmed when the Capitol Police shot and killed her, and her family has filed a lawsuit seeking to unmask the identity of the officer who shot her, who currently won’t be charged in her death.
Putin will meet with Joe Biden on Tuesday.
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