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Capitol rioters clamor for payouts from Trump’s new ‘anti-weaponization’ fund despite backlash

The fund faces legal challenges as Trump allies and pardoned rioters seek compensation, with some applicants hoping for awards as high as $5 million.

  • Rioters pardoned by President Donald Trump are seeking payouts from the administration's $1.776 billion settlement fund, claiming they were victims of a weaponized government despite a federal judge's temporary freeze on the fund.
  • A federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the fund's establishment on Friday, halting claim processing amid at least three lawsuits, while Senate Republicans demand restrictions through Department of Homeland Security spending legislation.
  • Former attorney David Johnston is assisting fellow rioters with applications for a 10% cut, capped at $5,000, while Oregon resident Pamela Hemphill has drafted a claim seeking $5 million in compensation.
  • Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told The Associated Press on Thursday that five unnamed commissioners will determine eligibility based on factors including "what the person did, his sentence, how much time he was in jail."
  • Critics, including former prosecutor Brendan Ballou, argue the fund aims to rewrite Jan. 6 history, warning that if successful, it will encourage the public to "condone any attack on democracy.
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Capitol rioters clamor for payouts from Trump's new 'anti-weaponization' fund despite backlash

Many of the convicted rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, are clamoring for payouts from the nearly $1.8 billion settlement that the Trump administration has set up for people claiming to be victims of a weaponized government.

·New York, United States
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David Johnston was a licensed lawyer when he illegally entered the Capitol with a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021. More than five years later, South Carolina’s man offered to help other highs apply for payments from the Trump administration’s new nearly $1.8 billion fund for people claiming to be victims of alleged politicization of justice.

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KVUE broke the news in Austin, United States on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
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