Officers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from
$1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
[May 21, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol
from an attack by a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters sued on
Wednesday to block anyone — including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters — from
receiving payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for people
who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
The officers' attorneys filed the federal lawsuit a day after acting
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund's creation during a
congressional hearing. Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before
joining the Justice Department, wouldn't rule out the possibility that
rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for fund
payouts.
The lawsuit claims the government's “Anti-Weaponization Fund" is an
illegal slush fund that Trump will use to “finance the insurrectionists
and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.” It describes
the fund's creation as "the most brazen act of presidential corruption
this century" and calls for dissolving it.
“No statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is
premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and
federal law,” the suit says.
The fund stems from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against
the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. It’s designed to compensate
those who believe they were mistreated by prior administrations’ Justice
Department. Decisions on payouts will be made by a five-member
commission appointed by the attorney general.
More than 100 police officers were injured during the Capitol riot.
Nearly 1,600 people were charged with Jan. 6-related crimes, but Trump
used his pardon powers to erase all of those cases in a sweeping act of
clemency last year.
The plaintiffs suing Trump over the fund are Metropolitan Police
Department officer Daniel Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police officer
Harry Dunn, who is running in Maryland for a seat in Congress. Hodges
and Dunn both testified before Congress about their harrowing
experiences on Jan. 6. Videos captured a rioter ripping a mask off
Hodges as he was pinned against a door during a fight for control of a
tunnel entrance.
[to top of second column]
|
Violent protesters gather outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP
Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The officers claim the fund “encourages those who enacted violence
in the President’s name to continue to do so.”
“Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence
on regular basis; the Fund substantially increases the danger,” the
suit alleges.
A commission, whose members will be chosen by Blanche but have not
yet been announced, will be charged with deciding who gets paid and
how much.
Blanche said in a CNN interview on Wednesday that the board will
have to consider the person's actions, among other factors, when
deciding whether to give them money. But the attorney general added:
“Whether the commissioners will give that person money — that
claimant — it’s up to them.”
Blanche said “it’s abhorrent” to harm law enforcement, but added
that “people that hurt police get money all the time” from suing the
government. He dismissed backlash to the fund as “fake outrage.”
Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also are named as
defendants in the officers’ lawsuit. Spokespeople for the Justice
and Treasury departments didn't immediately respond to requests for
comment on the suit.
One of the attorneys for the officers is Brendan Ballou, a former
Justice Department prosecutor who handled Jan. 6 cases.
___
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Cooper in Phoenix contributed to
this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
