Capitol riot with money-back guarantee? Trump’s Jan. 6 ‘patriots’ may get refund for damage they caused

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicated it may return fines to a number of January 6 rioters whose convictions were later overturned by presidential pardons, particularly if those pardons came while the cases were still under appeal.

In a court filing last week, Assistant US Attorney Adam Dreher said that although individuals granted a pardon after a conviction are generally not entitled to get their fines back, there could be exceptions. This may include those whose appeals were ongoing at the time they were pardoned.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The case in question involves Stacy Wade Hager, who was convicted on four misdemeanour charges and ordered to pay $570. Some rioters facing felony charges have been required to pay as much as $2,000. However, Hager’s conviction was still being appealed when former President Donald Trump issued a broad amnesty, effectively invalidating his conviction, according to Dreher.

As a result, “the government agrees that Hager is entitled to reimbursement of those payments,” Dreher wrote.

Watch:Protest against Trump, thousands flock to California capitol

While Dreher made clear this wouldn’t apply to all those pardoned, the filing comes as Trump appears increasingly supportive of compensating convicted participants in the Capitol attack.

Trump: "They were patriots"

In a recent interview with Newsmax, Trump hinted at the idea of a compensation fund to support those who lost income or job opportunities due to legal proceedings following the events of 6 January 2021.

“We have a lot of people, a lot of the people that are in government now talk about it because [we] really like that group of people,” Trump said. “They were patriots as far as I was concerned,” he added.

Around 1,600 people have faced charges over the riot, with approximately 900 convictions secured by August 2023. The violent breach of the Capitol led to millions of dollars in damages, broken windows, vandalised offices and stolen equipment among.

At least 174 police officers were injured during the chaos. Four officers who responded to the attack later died by suicide, Reuters reported.

(With inputs from agencies)