2 officers in Jan. 6 riot sue to block DOJ "anti-weaponization" fund
The $1.776 billion fund, which is part of the agreement to settle Trump's lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Dept., is to be used to compensate those who claim that the government weaponized the legal system against them.
Updated on: May 20, 2026 / 10:44 AM EDT / CBS News
Two law enforcement officers who clashed with rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 , sued Wednesday to block the Trump administration's $1.7 billion "anti-weaponization fund," which was created this week as part of a settlement between President Trump and the federal government.
The lawsuit , filed in federal court in the District of Columbia by retired U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges, asks a federal judge to find the creation of the fund illegal and reverse any transfers that the Treasury Department has made to the Justice Department to implement it.
Both Dunn and Hodges defended the U.S. Capitol after a mob of Trump supporters attempted to stop the certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6, 2021.
The fund was announced Monday by the Justice Department. In a statement announcing the $1.776 billion fund, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the fund would "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare."
Since the announcement, attorneys representing those claiming the government was weaponized against them have begun scrambling to position their clients for payouts .