Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle (NY-25) introduced a bill to prevent January 6 rioters from receiving payouts from the federal government.

 

The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act would broadly prohibit the use of federal funds to compensate any January 6 rioter who was prosecuted for his or her involvement in the attack on the Capitol and stop ongoing refunds of fines that were paid as part of their convictions. This bill is the House companion to legislation introduced in the Senate by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA).  

 

Roughly 400 people who benefited from Trump administration pardons or grants of clemency after their involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol are currently seeking millions of dollars in taxpayer funds because they were prosecuted for their criminal actions. Leaders of the “Proud Boys” far-right militant organization are suing for $100 million alone, and senior Department of Justice official Ed Martin reportedly supports compensating violent January 6 insurrectionists.

 

“To provide any restitution for violent January 6 insurrectionists is to reward the actions of criminals who tried to overturn a free and fair election,” said Congresswoman Ross. “These individuals broke the law, assaulted law enforcement officers, were convicted in a court of law, and caused millions in unpaid damages to the U.S. Capitol. The January 6 rioters nearly upended our democratic system and prevented the peaceful transfer of power, and this administration wants to reward them for it. Not a single dollar of our taxes should be paid out to convicted insurrectionists. This critical legislation will ensure accountability for those who attacked the Capitol and prevent Trump from rewriting what really happened on that horrible day. 

 

“Pardons, praise and now payouts? It is a sign of the Administration’s full-blown destruction of American ethical values and its sense of boundless immunity that it’s now considering government cash payments to Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other January 6 rioters and insurrectionists for their bloody labors on behalf of Donald Trump, the paymaster with infinite access to the taxpayers’ checkbook,” said Ranking Member Jamie Raskin. “What a betrayal of the 140 police officers who fought for hours to defend us and were wounded and injured by this fascist attack on the peaceful transfer of power and yet never were offered a dime or a dollar by our MAGA rulers. The No Rewards For January 6 Rioters Act ensures that federal resources remain dedicated to the defense of our institutions—not the enrichment of people who tried to violently dismantle them.”

 

“Criminals who brutally assaulted law enforcement to prevent the peaceful transfer of power are not entitled to taxpayer-funded compensation. I’m proud to lead this legislation alongside Congresswoman Ross and Ranking Member Raskin because the American people’s money must never be used to reward political violence, incentivize future attacks, or rewrite history,” said Ranking Member Joe Morelle.

 

The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 caused roughly $3 million in damages to the Capitol building, injured more than 100 law enforcement officers, and threatened members of Congress and their staff. Damage to the building included widespread vandalism, ruined furniture, shattered glass, broken doors, defaced artwork, and the desecration of the halls of Congress. Convicted January 6 insurrectionists paid about $400,000 in court-ordered restitution to cover the damages they caused, which has since been transferred to the Treasury Department, from where the funds can only be withdrawn by Congress.

 

Last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) took a meeting with a lawyer for January 6 insurrectionists where DOJ was asked to create a victims compensation fund, similar to that used to compensate September 11, 2001 victims, to issue cash rewards for alleged “harms” these rioters faced. Their attorney stated that DOJ official Ed Martin is “100 percent on our side.” Any such fund would be both deeply corrupt and unlawful, as the establishment of a separate fund requires Congressional action. However, rioters could seek to “sue and settle” claims and raid the federal Judgment Fund instead.

 

The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act would:

• Prohibit the use of federal funds to compensate prosecuted January 6 rioters, including by barring the establishment of a victim compensation fund and by prohibiting the Justice Department from entering into settlement agreements;
• Prohibit further refunds of restitution payments; and
• Authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the remaining restitution funds to the Architect of the Capitol.

 

The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act is endorsed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW); Democracy Defenders Action; Protect Democracy; Sgt. Aquilino A. Gonell, Fr. United States Capitol Police; Officer Harry Dunn, Fr. United States Capitol Police; and Officer Daniel Hodges, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (endorsement in his personal capacity).

 

"January 6, 2021 was one of the darkest days in American democracy,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “While the president may have the power to pardon those individuals who attacked the Capitol for their federal crimes, the idea that these individuals should now be compensated for the so-called "harms" they suffered is as preposterous as it is dangerous. CREW is proud to endorse Rep. Ross's No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to compensate any individual prosecuted for their involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. We call on members of Congress to pass this legislation without delay”

 

“All Americans deserve the right to peacefully protest. However, the January 6th insurrectionists who violently stormed the Capitol should be held accountable for their role in this unprecedented attack. It would be unconscionable to reward the rioters who assaulted law enforcement officers that day with payouts from the Trump administration after being pardoned,” said Virginia Canter, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Chief Counsel and Director at Democracy Defenders Action. “We commend Representatives Ross, Raskin, and Morelle for their leadership in introducing the No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act, and we urge Congress to quickly pass this important legislation.”

 

“Five years ago, for the first time in American history, a sitting president tried to overturn the results of a presidential election and block the peaceful transfer of power. Now, without any congressional approval, the President wants to use taxpayer dollars to give payouts to the rioters who stormed the Capitol and violently assaulted police officers. Passing this bill would help end this perversion of justice and prevent the encouragement of similar violence in the future,” said Justin Vail, Head of the Washington Office at Protect Democracy.

 

“As one of the many injured officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th attack, it is imperative to me that perpetrators are not seen as heroes and that no one is allowed to deny the reality of the violent events that ended my career in law enforcement,” said Sgt. Aquilino A. Gonell, Fr. United States Capitol Police. “The January 6 rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatened the lives of hundreds of elected officials whom I risked my life to protect, and badly injured me and my colleagues simply because we kept our oath to defend the Capitol and our representative democracy. Those rioters should not be rewarded for participating in the assault. Doing so would be a betrayal to the service and sacrifice made by the January 6 first responders, which is why I support the No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act Let us stand by the truth as a country.”

 

“I’m thankful for this legislation being proposed. On the other hand, it’s a shame that it is even being proposed,” said Officer Harry Dunn, Fr. United States Capitol Police. “Just as I thought Americans would never attempt to stop the certification of an election through violence, never would I believe they would be rewarded for those efforts by this administration,” 

 

“I’m struggling to come up with a short, compelling statement of support for this legislation that doesn’t sound absurd in its obviousness; it’s like trying to write inspiring rhetoric in support of the law of gravity. Sadly it is the political age we live in where such declarations become necessary against the backdrop of a President who suggests we would be better off if the Earth no longer reliably pulled us towards the ground, so here we go: It is a bad idea to reward those who violently attacked law enforcement officers in an effort to coerce, capture, or kill members of Congress, their staff, and the Vice President of the United States of America,” said Officer Daniel Hodges, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (endorsement in his personal capacity). “It is a bad idea to reward those who committed crimes in an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power and terminate American democracy. This legislation will prevent either of these scenarios from becoming reality and I hope that Congress will vote with recognition that there are countless endeavors and people more worthy of our resources.”

 

Bill text is available here.

 

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