Whitehouse, Padilla Introduce Bills to Ban Taxpayer Payouts for January 6 Rioters
Senators’ bills would prevent the Trump Administration from handing out millions in taxpayer funds to Capitol rioters
Washington, DC – On the fifth anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a pair of bills to prevent January 6 rioters from receiving payouts from the federal government.
Nearly 400 people whom the Trump Administration pardoned or granted clemency to after their involvement in the violent January 6 attacks are now seeking millions of dollars in taxpayer funds because they were prosecuted for their criminal actions. Most claimants are seeking $1 million to $10 million from the U.S. government.
The 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 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.
“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,” said Senator Whitehouse.
“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,” said Senator 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.”
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).
“January 6, 2021 was one of the darkest days in American democracy,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “While the president may have the power to pardon individuals who attacked the Capitol for their federal crimes, the idea that these individuals should now be compensated for the so-called ‘harms’ they suffered is as preposterous as it is dangerous. CREW is proud to endorse Senator Padilla’s No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to compensate any individual prosecuted for their involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Senator Whitehouse’s No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act, which would prevent payouts to individuals convicted of attacking law enforcement officers. We call on members of Congress to pass these important bills without delay.”
“All Americans deserve the right to peacefully protest. However, the January 6th insurrectionists who violently stormed the Capitol should be held accountable for their role in this unprecedented attack. It would be unconscionable to reward the rioters who assaulted law enforcement officers that day with payouts from the Trump administration after being pardoned,” said Virginia Canter, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Chief Counsel and Director at Democracy Defenders Action. “We commend Senators Whitehouse and Padilla for their leadership in introducing the No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act and the No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act, and we urge Congress to quickly pass this important legislation.”
“As one of the many injured officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the January 6th attack, it is imperative to me that perpetrators are not seen as heroes and that no one is allowed to deny the reality of the violent events that ended my career in law enforcement,” said Sgt. Aquilino A. Gonell, Fr. United States Capitol Police. “The January 6 rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatened the lives of hundreds of elected officials whom I risked my life to protect, and badly injured me and my colleagues simply because we kept our oath to defend the Capitol and our representative democracy. Those rioters should not be rewarded for participating in the assault. Doing so would be a betrayal to the service and sacrifice made by the January 6 first responders, which is why I support Senator Padilla’s and Senator Whitehouse’s No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act and No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act. Let us stand by the truth as a country.”
“I’m thankful for this legislation being proposed. On the other hand, it’s a shame that it is even being proposed. Just as I thought Americans would never attempt to stop the certification of an election through violence, never would I believe they would be rewarded for those efforts by this administration,” said Officer Harry Dunn, Fr. United States Capitol Police.
“I’m struggling to come up with a short, compelling statement of support for these Acts that doesn’t sound absurd in its obviousness; it’s like trying to write inspiring rhetoric in support of the law of gravity. Sadly it is the political age we live in where such declarations become necessary against the backdrop of a President who suggests we would be better off if the Earth no longer reliably pulled us towards the ground, so here we go: It is a bad idea to reward those who violently attacked law enforcement officers in an effort to coerce, capture, or kill members of Congress, their staff, and the Vice President of the United States of America,” said Officer Daniel Hodges, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (endorsement in his personal capacity). “It is a bad idea to reward those who committed crimes in an effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power and terminate American democracy. These Acts will prevent either of these scenarios from becoming reality and I hope that Congress will vote with recognition that there are countless endeavors and people more worthy of our resources.”
“Five years ago, for the first time in American history, a sitting president tried to overturn the results of a presidential election and block the peaceful transfer of power. Now, without any congressional approval, the President wants to use taxpayer dollars to give payouts to the rioters who stormed the Capitol and violently assaulted police officers. Passing these bills would end this perversion of justice and prevent the encouragement of similar violence in the future,” said Justin Vail, Counsel at Protect Democracy.
Last year, Senator Whitehouse joined Senate colleagues in demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice abandon any efforts to refund or financially reward convicted January 6 insurrectionists. Senator Whitehouse previously joined colleagues in denouncing DOJ’s court arguments that the federal government should refund insurrectionists for the restitution payments they made for damage they caused to the Capitol building. Since then, restitution refund requests have almost all been denied, but in August, a judge ordered the government to refund the restitution a January 6 insurrectionist paid before they were pardoned and their case was vacated.
The No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act is cosponsored by 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), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
Full text of the bill is available here.
The No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act is cosponsored by 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).
Full text of the bill is available here.