The woman shot dead while storming the US Capitol building was filmed climbing through a vandalised window seconds before she was killed.
Air Force veteran Ashli Babbit was hit in the chest by police as she took part in the violent scenes that brought shame on American democracy.
She was one of four who died during Wednesday's protests.
Her mother-in-law, Robin Babbitt, said she was numb, devastated - and said nobody had notified her son and they had found out the news on TV.
Ashli Babbit, 35, was one of hundreds of Donald Trump ’s most ardent supporters who broke through barriers and stormed the Capitol on Wednesday as politicians began certifying Joe Biden's election victory.
Footage of the incident shows dozens of people smashing windows at double doors which were barricaded with furniture by officers after dozens poured through the hallways to demand November's ballot result be overturned.
“He’s got a gun,” one of the rioters can be heard shouting but the warning is too late.
Babbitt is seen trying to clamber through a broken window before a shot is fired which sends her stumbling backwards.
A fellow Trump supporter said: "A number of police and secret service were saying ‘get back, get down, get out of the way.’
“She didn't heed the call, and as we kind of raced up to grab people and pull them back, they shot her in the neck, and she fell back on me."
Aaron, Babbit's husband, said his wife was a 14-year military veteran who served four tours with the Air Force as a “high-level security official”.
He said she was a strong Trump supporter and “a great patriot to all who knew her.”
Her mother-in-law, Robin Babbitt, added: “I’m numb. I’m devastated. Nobody from DC notified my son, and we found out on TV.
“She is a Trump supporter.”
Her brother-in-law, Justin Jackson, said: "Ashli was both loyal as well as extremely passionate about what she believed in.
"She loved this country and felt honoured to have served in our Armed Forces. Please keep her family in your thoughts and respect their privacy during this time."
The day before she was fatally shot, Babbit 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….dark to light.”
She used the Twitter handle CommonAshSense, posting a “MUST BE DONE LIST before Congress meets today” hours before the protests began.
It included, “(Vice President) Mike Pence must resign & thereafter be charged with TREASON,” and, “Chief Justice John Roberts must RESIGN.”
Responding to a tweet on Monday by conservative author Melissa Tate saying, “Landing in DC. Here to do God’s work. Save the Republic,” Babbitt responded, “I will be there tomorrow. Gods speed.”
The others who died - one woman and two men - did so as a result of "medical emergencies", officials said, without giving details.
