Daniel Hodges And Harry Dunn Sue Donald Trump To Block $1.776 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund

Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot sued President Donald Trump to block payouts from a new $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which the officers say is an illegal slush fund.

“Officers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from $1”

AP News

The lawsuit was filed by Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn in federal court in Washington, D.C., and it seeks to block anyone, including Jan. 6, 2021 rioters, from receiving payouts from the fund.

AP News

The officers’ complaint describes the fund’s creation as “the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century” and argues “No statute authorizes its creation,” according to the AP report.

The fund stems from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, and decisions on payouts are to be made by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general, as described by AP.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund’s creation during a congressional hearing, and AP reported that he “wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for fund payouts.”

In the officers’ suit, they argue the fund “encourages those who enacted violence in the President’s name to continue to do so,” and they also allege it increases danger for Dunn and Hodges.

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NBC News reported Blanche told the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 19, “Does it mean they’re going to get money? No,” adding “It just means they are allowed to apply.”

The Justice Department, in response to the lawsuit, said, “The only thing illegal and corrupt about this situation is the brazen weaponization of federal resources by previous administrations to retaliate against those with opposing political beliefs,” according to CNBC.

The officers’ lawsuit frames the fund as a threat to their safety and as a mechanism that could reward violence, with USA Today saying the suit argues the arrangement endangers their lives because it encourages individuals who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 to continue acting violently.

USA Today also reported that Trump used presidential powers on the first day of his second term to pardon or commute sentences of nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants, including hundreds convicted of assaulting police officers, while the officers argue the fund could finance further harassment and violence.

In the Guardian’s account of the lawsuit, the complaint says, “By its very existence, the fund encourages those who enacted violence in the president’s name to continue to do so,” and it adds that “Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence on regular basis.”

The Guardian further reported that Trump, when asked about the possibility of money going to Jan. 6 defendants, defended the idea by saying, “They’ve been weaponized. They’ve been in some cases imprisoned wrongly. They paid legal fees that they didn’t have. They’ve gone bankrupt. Their lives have been destroyed,” and concluded, “And they turned out to be right.”