Judge blocks Trump’s $1.8 B Jan. 6 compensation fund

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia issued a preliminary injunction that stops President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion “Anti‑Weaponization” fund, which was intended to compensate individuals pardoned for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The judge ordered Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to provide sworn statements, under penalty of perjury, that the fund will not move forward.

The fund originated from a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and was framed by the Justice Department as compensation for people it deemed victims of “prosecutorial overreach.” The court cited Trump’s public endorsement of the fund as a reason to require an unequivocal declaration that it is dead.