Two police officers who defended the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, insurrection have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over a $1.776bn fund they claim unlawfully rewards rioters and allies. The fund, created as part of an agreement in which Trump and his sons dropped a $10bn lawsuit against the IRS, is intended to compensate individuals the president claims were victims of prosecutorial overreach.
Harry Dunn, a retired US Capitol police officer, and Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan police department officer, filed the complaint in US district court in Washington DC on Tuesday. The lawsuit describes the fund as “the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century,” alleging it finances “insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.”
Both officers were present at the west front of the Capitol during the attack. Hodges was nearly crushed between metal doors while attempting to prevent rioters from breaching the building, and one rioter tried to gouge his eyes. Dunn, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024, has said he suffers from PTSD following the attack.
The lawsuit argues that the fund encourages further violence, stating that Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence, which the fund substantially increases. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are also named as defendants.
During a Senate hearing on May 19, Blanche refused to rule out that January 6 rioters would receive payouts, stating it was up to the fund’s commissioners, whom he will appoint and Trump can fire at any time. Trump defended the possibility on May 18, saying rioters had been “weaponized” and their lives destroyed. Vice President JD Vance also refused to rule out payments, adding that anyone, including Hunter Biden, could apply.
