Former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio said he plans to seek millions of dollars from the Trump administration's newly created $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund," arguing that January 6 defendants were politically targeted by the Justice Department.
"I'm not greedy," Tarrio told Reuters. "But my life was all fucked up because of this." Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy related to the January 6 Capitol attack before being pardoned by President Donald Trump, said he expected to seek between $2 million and $5 million from the fund.
Tarrio also said that those who assaulted police should get their share. "The Justice Department overprosecuted for political gain," he said. "So everyone deserves to get money."
The Justice Department announced the program this week as part of a settlement agreement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, a lawsuit over the leaking of Trump's tax returns. According to the DOJ, the fund is intended to provide "a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare."
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement "the machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American," while emphasizing that eligibility would not be limited by political affiliation. Blanche also told lawmakers that even individuals convicted of assaulting police officers on January 6 would not automatically be barred from receiving compensation.
The fund will be overseen by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general and financed through the federal Judgment Fund, which is traditionally used to settle legal claims against the government. Claims can result in monetary compensation or formal apologies.
Trump defended the initiative this week, saying January 6 defendants had been "horribly treated" and that many had gone bankrupt or had their "lives destroyed." He also suggested the nearly $1.8 billion allocation may not be sufficient. "You're talking about peanuts," Trump told reporters.
The program has drawn criticism from Democrats, legal experts and Capitol police officers injured during the riot. Two officers filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block the fund, describing it as a "taxpayer-funded slush fund" for Trump supporters involved in the attack.
PBS interviewed several legal scholars on Wednesday who questioned the administration's comparison of the initiative to the Obama-era Keepseagle settlement involving discrimination claims by Native American farmers. USC law professor Adam Zimmerman said, "I don't even think we have a word for how unprecedented this is."
Some Trump allies outside the January 6 cases have also expressed interest in applying. Former FBI Director James Comey, who has faced investigations under Trump's second administration, said on CNN, "I'm guessing I'll be in line."
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