Trump allies eye $1.776B ‘weaponization’ fund after pardons

Trump allies – Enrique Tarrio and other Trump supporters have started mapping out how to claim a new $1.776 billion compensation fund for people they say were harmed by the Justice Department’s “weaponization,” even as two Capitol police officers sue to stop the plan and Dem

Washington is still counting the cost of January 6—and now the fight has moved to a new ledger.

Since President Donald Trump’s administration announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund for Americans described as victims of political “weaponization. ” January 6 Capitol riot defendants and other Trump allies have begun sorting out what they might receive and what it could mean for their next legal moves. The numbers being discussed are large. and the stakes are personal: Tarrio says his life was wrecked by the prosecution. while opponents warn the money could become a taxpayer-financed reward system.

Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy over the January 6, 2021 riot, said he planned to apply to the fund, assuming he could get between $2 and $5 million. “I’m not greedy,” Tarrio said. “But my life was all fucked up because of this.”

Trump, for his part, has already issued pardons to more than 1,500 January 6 defendants last year. Some of those recipients—and other Trump allies—have begun to calculate what they believe they lost: the cost of prosecution. jail time. and businesses they say were swallowed while they were incarcerated. Their argument is consistent: they were treated as targets by the Justice Department under former President Joe Biden.

Peter Ticktin, an attorney representing more than 400 January 6 defendants, said the fund may not be enough. “People lost multi-million dollar businesses while they were locked up,” he said. “I don’t think the DOJ is ready for us yet.”

The fund’s size has also become part of the political argument. Trump suggested the compensation may be too small, telling reporters at Joint Base Andrews, “You’re talking about peanuts,” adding, “It destroyed the lives of many, many people.”

Federal officials, however, have insisted the program is not limited to people who did not commit crimes. U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday that even people who assaulted police on January 6 would not be barred from receiving money. Tarrio, though, believes those who assaulted police should get their share.

“The Justice Department overprosecuted for political gain,” he said. “So everyone deserves to get money.”

Opposition has focused on both the legality and the fairness of using public funds for a settlement tied to political claims. Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from Trump supporters on January 6 filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to halt the compensation fund. In their case, they described it as a “taxpayer-funded slush fund” for Trump followers who engaged in violence.

Democrats have also taken aim at other settlement terms tied to the broader package. including part of the agreement described as “forever barring” the IRS from auditing past tax claims by Trump. his relatives and his businesses. Democratic Representatives Jamie Raskin and Richard E. Neal pressed the matter further in a Wednesday letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Blanche. and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano. who negotiated the settlement. asking whether individual awards would be capped and what reports would be made public. They wrote, “Never in American history has a President pursued corruption this brazenly or on such a colossal scale,”.

Even among Democrats, the next step may not be limited to lawsuits. Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said on Wednesday he would try to block the fund through spending-bill amendments, though he acknowledged the issue might have to be resolved separately.

Where the money could land. and what people would have to do to get it. is now driving fast-moving speculation among defendants and allies. Ticktin said he plans to file hundreds of claims once the Justice Department creates the application process and the attorney general appoints the five-member commission overseeing the fund. He said he suggested the idea to Trump. his high school classmate. in a March email. but said he doesn’t know whether that had any impact on the creation of the fund.

The same language used for years by January 6 supporters—“lawfare,” “weaponization,” and “victims”—has also helped fuel enthusiasm online. Jennie Carso-Heinl. who pleaded guilty to parading. demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. wrote on X. “Now liberals wanna cry about righting the wrong. too bad.” She added. “Justice is coming.”.

Already, at least one Trump ally has made a formal request. Michael Caputo, a former administration official, asked Blanche for $2.7 million in “restitution” over investigations by the Biden administration and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Some high-profile Democrats and former officials have suggested they could consider applying too. Former FBI Director James Comey. twice indicted since Trump began his second term. said on CNN that he has considered applying. “It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for. they say. personal. political or ideological reasons. ” Comey said. “So I’m guessing I’ll be in line.”.

For some Trump supporters, though, compensation comes with an uneasy tradeoff. Barry Ramey. a Proud Boys affiliate convicted of attacking police officers. said he was unsure whether to apply because taking money could jeopardize his claim against the Bureau of Prisons. “My commitment to justice is not about the money,” he said. “I want to show they acted illegally.”.

But if he could secure $2 million, he said, he might reconsider.

The scramble around the fund is now shaping a different kind of aftermath for January 6: less about courtroom arguments over what happened on the day of the riot and more about who qualifies afterward—and what the financial price of those convictions should be. With lawsuits aiming to halt the plan and lawmakers pressing Treasury and Justice officials for answers. the fight over the money is only beginning.

As Congress weighs potential action and as the five-member commission and the application process are set to be established. the question being asked across multiple camps is the same: will the program be limited enough to satisfy skeptics—or broad enough to satisfy those who say they’re finally getting paid for years of being treated as enemies by the Justice Department.

(Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Editing by Michael Learmonth and Alistair Bell)

January 6 Trump weaponization fund Enrique Tarrio Proud Boys Todd Blanche Treasury IRS lawsuit Jamie Raskin Richard E. Neal Chris Coons Michael Caputo James Comey Bureau of Prisons