Jan. 6 rioters, Proud Boys leaders, and Trump allies are racing to stake their claims to President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, and some are already calculating exactly how much they believe they’re owed.
Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in planning the Capitol attack, told Reuters he plans to apply, estimating he deserves between $2 and $5 million.
“I’m not greedy,” Tarrio said. “But my life was all [expletive] up because of this.”
Peter Ticktin, an attorney representing more than 400 Jan. 6 defendants, warned the fund may not stretch far enough.
“People lost multi-million dollar businesses while they were locked up,” he said. “I don’t think the DOJ is ready for us yet.”
Trump seemed to agree.
“You’re talking about peanuts,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. “It destroyed the lives of many, many people.”
Even some who attacked police officers expect a cut. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to rule out payouts to rioters who assaulted officers, and Tarrio endorsed that position.
“The Justice Department over-prosecuted for political gain,” he said. “So everyone deserves to get money.”
The fund has drawn a lawsuit from two Capitol Police officers who called it “the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century.” Democrats and some Republicans have questioned its legality, while critics noted the settlement also permanently bars the IRS from auditing Trump, his family, and his businesses.
Perhaps most remarkably, former FBI Director James Comey — twice indicted by Trump’s DOJ — said he’s considering applying too.
“It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say, personal, political or ideological reasons,” Comey told CNN. “So I’m guessing I’ll be in line.”
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