Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot are suing to block anyone from receiving payouts from a new $1.8 billion settlement fund. At the same time, former Jan. 6 defendants are already preparing their applications — and anticipating major payouts.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court against the Trump administration, argues that the newly announced “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is both illegal and dangerous. The Justice Department has indicated that the fund will be used to compensate an unspecified group of people “who suffered weaponization and lawfare” under previous presidential administrations. It is widely expected that at least some of the money will go to Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 and later received presidential pardons.
Facing questions from members of Congress and reporters, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Vice President JD Vance did not rule out payments to Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violent crimes against police officers.
“We’re not making commitments to give anybody money,” Vance said Tuesday at the White House. “We’re just making commitments to look at things case by case.”
‘Why Would You Pay People Who Attacked the Police?’
Daniel Hodges, a Washington, D.C., police officer who was repeatedly assaulted and crushed in a door frame by Jan. 6 rioters, is one of the plaintiffs seeking to block the fund.
“Why would you pay people who attacked the police at the Capitol of the United States who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power?” Hodges told NPR. “Why would you pay people who wanted to assassinate the vice president? You know, the list goes on and on. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Hodges said he and other officers who defended the Capitol continue to receive death threats, and that giving money to the people convicted of assaulting police could feed further harassment and violence.
“If they get this payout, then they’ll have significant financial resources,” Hodges said, “and they have no ethical qualms about it, so what would stop them from carrying out any more violence?”
Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn joined the lawsuit, which names acting Attorney General Blanche, as well as President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as defendants.
The Unusual Way the Fund Was Created
The lawsuit targets the unusual way the fund was created. Trump sued the federal government — of which he is the head — for $10 billion over the IRS leak of his private tax records, and then created this fund as part of a settlement over the claim.
“Donald Trump was functionally on both sides of the case,” said Brendan Ballou, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Jan. 6 cases and now represents Hodges and Dunn.
The lawsuit also notes that Trump’s mass pardons restored gun rights for many Jan. 6 defendants. The “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” Ballou argues, could also provide them with a major financial windfall.
“They can get money, they can get guns,” Ballou said. “And right now they have the endorsement of the president showing that they will be financially rewarded for their violence.”
Ballou was blunt: “The Trump slush fund is potentially the most corrupt act of presidential power in American history.”
Rioters Expect to Be ‘Rewarded’
Jake Lang used a bat to attack police protecting the Capitol on Jan. 6. His trial for assault and other charges was pending when Trump ordered the case dismissed and released him from jail. Since his release, he has become a white power, anti-immigrant, antisemitic, and anti-Muslim activist and provocateur. He has been recorded on video using racist slurs, including the n-word, and giving a Nazi salute.
When contacted by NPR for comment, Lang answered the phone by saying, “Jake Lang’s office, America’s newest billionaire.”
Lang said he was joking about becoming a billionaire but confirmed that he plans to apply for compensation through the fund and expects other Jan. 6 defendants to do the same.
“The misdemeanor cases should be looking to receive several hundred thousand dollars,” Lang said, “and some of the cases like mine may be looking at upwards of a million dollars.”
Lang said Trump’s message in establishing the fund was clear.
“If you sacrifice for your country, if you do the right thing in the face of evil, you will be rewarded for your bravery, for your patriotism, for the love of your country,” Lang said. “That’s the message President Trump is sending.”
Using ‘Trump Bucks’ as Hush Money
Lang is one of dozens of former Jan. 6 defendants who have been charged or convicted of additional crimes since Trump issued mass pardons to the rioters.
In Florida, defendant Andrew Paul Johnson is currently serving a life sentence in prison for sexually abusing two young children. According to a police affidavit filed last year, Johnson told his victims that he would share a portion of restitution money that he expected to receive from the Trump administration. “This tactic was believed to be used to keep [the victim] from exposing what Andrew had done to him,” the affidavit said.
The mother of one of the victims told NPR that Johnson told the children he would buy them things with “my Trump bucks.” Johnson made those comments before the announcement of the fund, at a time when some Trump Justice Department officials were publicly discussing restitution for Jan. 6 defendants.
“He said not to tell anybody,” one of Johnson’s victims testified at his trial.
“We were scared,” another victim testified. “Like, we didn’t realize that this stuff was not okay because we were 12 years old.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) pressed Blanche about Johnson’s case at a congressional committee hearing. Blanche said the facts of the case were “disgusting” and “it’s horrible that that happened.” But he did not state whether Johnson would be eligible to apply for compensation through the fund.
The Bottom Line
Two police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 are suing to block payouts from the Trump administration’s new $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The lawsuit argues the fund is illegal and dangerous, and that paying Jan. 6 rioters could fuel further violence.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Vice President JD Vance have not ruled out payments to rioters convicted of violent crimes against police. Meanwhile, convicted rioter Jake Lang expects to receive “upwards of a million dollars” and says Trump’s message is clear: those who sacrificed for the country will be rewarded.
Another pardoned rioter, Andrew Paul Johnson, is serving a life sentence for child sexual abuse and allegedly told his victims he would buy them things with “my Trump bucks.”
The fund was created through an unusual legal maneuver in which Trump sued the federal government — of which he is the head — and then settled with himself. The officers’ lawyer called it “potentially the most corrupt act of presidential power in American history.”
