{"id":657,"date":"2026-05-21T11:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=657"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:03:26","slug":"officers-who-defended-capitol-from-rioters-sue-to-block-payouts-from-1-8b-anti-weaponization-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=657","title":{"rendered":"Officers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from $1.8B \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from an attack by a mob of President Donald Trump\u2019s supporters to block anyone \u2014 including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters \u2014 from receiving payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions.<\/p>\n

Read more Mother accused of killing toddler, freezing the body has criminal background, history of drug use<\/a><\/p>\n

The officers\u2019 attorneys filed the federal lawsuit a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund\u2019s creation during a congressional hearing. Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department, wouldn\u2019t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for fund payouts.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit claims the government\u2019s \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund\u201d is an illegal slush fund that Trump will use to \u201cfinance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.\u201d It describes the fund\u2019s creation as \u201cthe most brazen act of presidential corruption this century\u201d and calls for dissolving it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law,\u201d the suit says.<\/p>\n

The fund stems from a settlement of Trump\u2019s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. It\u2019s designed to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by prior administrations\u2019 Justice Department. Decisions on payouts will be made by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The officers claim the fund \u201cencourages those who enacted violence in the President\u2019s name to continue to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cDunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence on regular basis; the Fund substantially increases the danger,\u201d the suit alleges.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Blanche said in a CNN interview on Wednesday that the board will have to consider the person\u2019s actions, among other factors, when deciding whether to give them money. But the attorney general added: \u201cWhether the commissioners will give that person money \u2014 that claimant \u2014 it\u2019s up to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche said \u201cit\u2019s abhorrent\u201d to harm law enforcement, but added that \u201cpeople that hurt police get money all the time\u201d from suing the government. He dismissed backlash to the fund as \u201cfake outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also are named as defendants in the officers\u2019 lawsuit. Spokespeople for the Justice and Treasury departments didn\u2019t immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit.<\/p>\n

One of the attorneys for the officers is Brendan Ballou, a former Justice Department prosecutor who handled Jan. 6 cases.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporter Jonathan Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

This story has been corrected to reflect that nearly 1,600 people, not over 1,600, were charged with Jan. 6-related crimes.<\/p>\n

Read more Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Gray Media double down on fan investment and the future of sports media<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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