Defendants convicted of assaulting police during the January 6 Capitol riot are now pursuing multimillion-dollar compensation claims using a little-known federal process that gives the Trump administration unchecked authority to approve payouts, effectively sidestepping a $1.8 billion fund that faced crushing bipartisan opposition.
The strategy hinges on the Federal Tort Claims Act, a statute designed to allow individuals harmed by government action to seek damages. Under FTCA rules, the Justice Department holds total discretion over whether to settle claims, with payouts drawn from the judgment fund, a permanent congressional appropriation. All defendants pursuing these claims received pardons from Trump.
The shift came after the administration's proposed "anti-weaponization fund" collapsed under fierce pushback from Republicans and Democrats alike. Lawmakers expressed particular alarm at the prospect of taxpayer money reaching those convicted of assaulting law enforcement. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri told NBC News: "If you've been convicted of assault on a cop, doesn't seem to me like people who are victims."
Yet FTCA litigation now threatens to achieve what the blocked fund could not. Rupa Bhattacharyya, a former director in the Justice Department's civil division tort branch and now legal director at Georgetown Law's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, warned of the danger. "It risks turning the judgment fund into exactly the sort of slush fund that the 'anti-weaponization' was going to be," she said. Without strict Treasury oversight limiting judgment fund use to settling genuine lawsuits with real liability exposure, she added, "there's no limit on what you can use that judgment fund money for, so long as someone files a bogus claim."
Attorney Peter Ticktin, a longtime Trump ally based in Florida, said he has filed roughly 400 FTCA claims on behalf of January 6 defendants and expects to file lawsuits regularly now that statutory waiting periods have expired. Mark McCloskey, representing numerous Capitol riot defendants, argued FTCA claims offer practical advantages over the defunct weaponization fund. "The FTCA gives you a statute with teeth," he said. "As long as you can prove your claim, you have a right to recovery."
Several high-profile cases illustrate the scope of claimed damages. Kenneth Joseph Thomas, an Ohio man sentenced to nearly five years for assaulting multiple Capitol police officers, is among nine plaintiffs seeking at least $1 million each in a May 2025 suit filed in Washington. Video documented him shoving officers and throwing himself into police lines while shouting orders to rioters. John George Todd III, a Missouri man sentenced to five years on multiple charges including injuring a Capitol police officer, joined the same suit claiming vindictive prosecution.
Andrew Taake, a Houston man who pleaded guilty to assaulting police with bear spray and a whip-like implement and drew a six-year sentence, is demanding at least $2.5 million. His lawyers claim inadequate medical care and an unfair trial justify compensation.
The Justice Department recently moved to defend itself in Taake's case, seeking dismissal on procedural grounds. A federal prosecutor in Washington argued in February that many claims should be thrown out for naming improper defendants or failing to meet pre-suit filing requirements. That rare pushback contrasts sharply with the administration's earlier decision not to defend itself against Trump's $10 billion IRS lawsuit.
Bhattacharyya expressed confidence that malicious prosecution claims by January 6 defendants are defensible, noting that many were indicted by grand juries, convicted at trial, and sentenced by judges. Yet defense attorney McCloskey countered that guilty pleas resulted from coerced confessions and fabricated evidence. "There is no evidence of wrongdoing in the January 6 prosecutions," independent observers and court records show.
Congressional opposition has crystallized. Senator Adam Schiff of California introduced legislation last month explicitly barring anyone convicted of January 6 related offenses from receiving federal compensation. His bill would amend the FTCA to disqualify those pardoned for Capitol riot actions. "President Donald Trump still wants to pay off violent insurrectionists who attacked police officers on January 6th," Schiff said. "Our taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay out criminals, and we can pass a law right now to prevent this president or any future administration from paying off their friends and political allies."
Congressman Nick LaLota, a New York Republican, echoed concern. "The concern my constituents and I have is that money possibly going to folks who hit cops," he told NBC News. "Especially when there is video evidence, they shouldn't get a dime from our government."
Author James Rodriguez: "This is the definition of a loophole working exactly as its users intended, and Congress needs to slam it shut now before the judgment fund becomes a de facto slush fund for convicted rioters."
Comments