Reed Cosponsors Padilla, Whitehouse Bills to Ban Taxpayer Payouts for January 6 Rioters

WASHINGTON, DC --On the fifth anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is teaming up with U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on a pair of new bills to prevent taxpayer money from being awarded to convicted and now-pardoned rioters.
The violent mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, attempting to prevent the certification of the 2020 election results, caused significant damage to the U.S. Capitol complex, injured more than 140 law enforcement officers, and threatened members of Congress and support staff.
The violent mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, attempting to prevent the certification of the 2020 election results caused roughly $3 million in damages to the U.S. Capitol building, injured more than 100 law enforcement officers, and threatened members of Congress and their staff. TheGovernment Accountability Office (GAO)estimated the true cost to taxpayers for the attack was over $1 billion, a figure that includes expenses incurred by the Capitol Police, the District of Columbia, and federal agencies, as well as costs to enhance security.
Convicted January 6 insurrectionists initially paid about $400,000 in court-ordered restitution to cover the damages they caused.  But President Trump's blanket clemency of J6 defendants absolved the perpetrators from having to pay taxpayers further restitution.
Roughly 400 people who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol and were pardoned by Trump or granted clemency are currently seeking millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds because they were prosecuted for their criminal actions. Most claimants are seeking $1 million to $10 million from the U.S. government. Leaders of the “Proud Boys” far-right militant organization alone are suing for $100 million, and senior U.S. Department of Justice official Ed Martin reportedly supports compensating violent January 6 insurrectionists.
Senator Padilla’s No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act would broadly prohibit the use of federal funds to compensate any January 6 rioters who were prosecuted for their involvement in the attack on the Capitol and stop the ongoing refunds of fines that were paid as part of their convictions.
The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Senator Whitehouse’s No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act would forbid the federal government from paying out any legal settlements to any January 6 rioters who were convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers during the Capitol insurrection.
The No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
“Five years after a violent swarm of insurrectionists stormed our nation’s Capitol, assaulted law enforcement officers, and attacked our very democracy, issuing cash payouts to these rioters is unthinkable,” saidSenator Padilla. “These insurrectionists should still be serving their sentences and paying fines for damages they caused to the Capitol — not receiving refunds or cash rewards from the Trump Administration. Our bills would hold these rioters accountable and protect taxpayers by putting an end to Donald Trump’s callous attempt to rewrite history with these illegal cash payouts.”
“Members of both parties who were here on January 6, 2021 remember the chaos and violence of that day, which resulted in police officers’ deaths and injuries. No matter how Trump’s MAGA goons now try to twist it, the January 6 attack on our Capitol was an assault on our democracy. Trump’s blanket day-one pardons for members of the January 6 mob were a slap in the face to the brave law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to protect the country. Our bills make clear that no one who stormed the Capitol should get a taxpayer-funded cash giveaway, especially not those who violently assaulted police officers,” saidSenator Whitehouse.
“I commend Senators Padilla and Whitehouse for their leadership on this issue and I am proud to support both bills,” saidSenator Reed. “Those who were convicted of violently storming the U.S. Capitol should not be financially rewarded for their heinous actions. President Trump wants to whitewash the events of January 6 and his Administration is now using the levers of government to continue the assault on democracy in a way that tries to force law abiding taxpayers to shell out millions of dollars to pay off those who committed serious crimes. Those who marched under Confederate banners and Trump flags, carrying weapons and violently beating law enforcement officers should not reap a financial windfall. They should be required to follow through with their court-ordered restitution.”
Last year, the Trump Administration directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take 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, but rioters could seek to“sue and settle”claims and raid the federal Judgment Fund instead, similar to claims that President Trump himself has made for $230 million in compensation.
Additionally, DOJ reached a $4.975 million settlement last June with the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Capitol Police Officer while attempting to enter the Speaker’s Lobby through a broken window on January 6.
Both bills are 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).
President Trump's blanket clemency of J6 defendants absolved the perpetrators from having to pay taxpayers restitution for the millions of dollars in damages they caused during the insurrection.