Trump Administration Creates Fund for Jan. 6 Rioters

The potential for individuals who stormed the Capitol to receive government payments has emerged as a shocking development in President Trump’s narrative surrounding the events of January 6.

A pro-Trump crowd gathered at the Capitol in 2021. If all participants from January 6 were to apply for the fund and received equal payouts, each could get approximately $1.125 million.

On May 20, 2026, Antony Vo was at a friend’s place when he received word from another pardoned January 6 rioter. The Trump administration had established a fund for those who believed they had been wronged by the federal government, including individuals like him who had stormed the Capitol five years prior.

Vo had initially fled the country to evade his prison sentence for his involvement in the riot. He was unaware that the fund was part of a larger agreement by President Trump to settle a significant lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Nonetheless, the fund’s origin was less important to him than its impact. He felt surprised, relieved, and grateful.

“I’m glad it turned into something,” he said, “that could help people who have been hurting for quite a while now.”

This sentiment was common among the group known as the ‘Jan. 6ers.’ They have long joined Mr. Trump in asserting that efforts to hold them accountable for disrupting the peaceful transfer of power in 2020 were examples of unjust treatment by the criminal justice system.

Some saw the fund as a validation of their belief that they were government victims. Others were delighted, though surprised, by the potential payouts. Not everyone understood how the claims process and check distribution would work.

“So many questions,” said Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right Proud Boys, who received a 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy related to the riot. “But it’s a good direction.”