Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from implementing a nearly $1.8 billion Justice Department fund they say is a "taxpayer-funded slush fund" that could funnel money to convicted Capitol rioters and other Trump allies.
The suit was filed by former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges, both of whom were injured while confronting the mob that breached the Capitol as Congress met to certify the 2020 election results.
They argue that the so-called "anti-weaponization" fund was created without congressional authorization and is designed to reward people who engaged in violence and efforts to overturn the election on Trump's behalf, according to The Guardian.
The fund, worth about $1.8 billion, was established as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against his own administration and the Internal Revenue Service, accusing them of politically motivated investigations.
Read more: Vance Declined To Rule Out Potential Payouts for Jan. 6 Rioters Under 'Anti-Weaponization Bond'
Under the settlement, the Justice Department agreed to create a compensation mechanism for individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted by federal prosecutors during the Biden administration.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told senators this week that "anyone in this nation can apply" for payments from the new fund, and he declined to rule out convicted Jan. 6 defendants, including those who assaulted police, as potential beneficiaries, CNBC reported.
According to Dunn and Hodges' complaint, internal and public statements about the fund suggest it is intended in part to compensate nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack, most of whom have since been pardoned by Trump.
Dunn and Hodges both defended the west front of the Capitol during the January 6 assault, where they faced some of the most intense violence of the attack.
Hodges was filmed being crushed in a Capitol entranceway as rioters pushed a metal door against him, and he has said a rioter tried to gouge his eyes during the melee, while Dunn, who later ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024, has spoken publicly about ongoing PTSD symptoms linked to that day, as per the Independent.
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