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 is a 'slush fund' to reward 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 those the president says 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' and argues it finances 'insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name'.
Both officers were on the west front of the Capitol during the attack. Hodges was nearly blinded by a rioter and was seen in infamous footage being crushed between metal doors. Dunn, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2024, says he suffers from PTSD. The lawsuit claims the fund increases the danger they already face from credible death threats.
The suit also names acting attorney general Todd Blanche and treasury secretary Scott Bessent as defendants. During a Senate hearing on 19 May, Blanche refused to rule out that January 6 rioters would receive payouts, saying it was up to the fund's commissioners, whom he appoints and Trump can fire at any time.
President Trump defended the possibility of rioters receiving money, saying they had been 'weaponized' and 'imprisoned wrongly'. Vice-President JD Vance also refused to rule out payouts, adding that anyone, including Hunter Biden, could apply. The fund was established as part of a legal settlement involving Trump and his sons.
