A security fence, erected in the wake of the January 6th attack but now scheduled to start being removed, surrounds the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
(Washington, DC) – Two officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot are suing to stop a new federal settlement fund from being used to pay people convicted or charged in connection with the attack.
Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn filed the lawsuit in federal court, challenging a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created for people who claim they were targeted by politically motivated prosecutions.
The lawsuit argues that the fund should not be used to reward Jan. 6 defendants, including people accused of attacking police officers during the breach of the Capitol.
The legal fight comes after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund during testimony on Capitol Hill. When asked whether Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted police could qualify for payments, Blanche did not rule it out.
That answer triggered sharp backlash from officers and critics who say the fund could turn into taxpayer-funded compensation for people involved in one of the most violent days in recent Capitol history.
More than 100 officers were injured during the riot, and over 1,600 people were charged in connection with Jan. 6. President Trump later issued sweeping clemency that wiped away those federal cases.
Hodges and Dunn both became nationally known after testifying before Congress about what they experienced during the attack. Hodges was seen in widely circulated footage being crushed in a Capitol tunnel as rioters fought police. Dunn has also spoken publicly about the violence and threats officers faced that day.
Their lawsuit now puts the Justice Department fund under direct legal scrutiny — and raises the central question of whether people involved in Jan. 6 should be allowed to seek federal payouts after their cases were erased.
