DOJ could still pay Jan. 6 rioters even without ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

Justice DepartmentDOJ could still pay Jan. 6 rioters even without ‘anti-weaponization’ fundThe Justice Department has a bottomless pot of money that can be used to settle legal claims made against the government.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The Justice Department building in Washington.Kevin Carter / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 5, 2026, 6:00 AM EDTBy Ryan J. ReillyEven without the “anti-weaponization” fund, the Trump administration has the ability to give payouts to Jan. 6 rioters through an already existing mechanism: the Judgment Fund.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress this week that the Justice Department was “not moving forward” with the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, after congressional Republicans balked at it and refused to vote on a bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol.It materialized through a highly unusual agreement in which Donald Trump said he would drop his lawsuits against the government in exchange for its creation.Critics labeled it a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies, and it had already been temporarily blocked by a court before Blanche made the statements this week, following a lawsuit by a former Jan. 6 prosecutor and others who sued. By close of business Friday, the Justice Department must explain its current position to a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, who will hold a hearing on June 12 to determine next steps. There are at least four other lawsuits, including one from officers who protected the Capitol during the attack.On Thursday, Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., filed a brief in the lawsuit over the “anti-weaponization” fund filed by the former Jan. 6 prosecutor, arguing that it “constitutes an end-run around Congress’s institutional authority.”Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman, who heads the group that filed the suit, said bipartisan...