WASHINGTON — David Johnston was a licensed attorney who walked at the rear of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 when he joined a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters. Now, more than five years later, the South‑Carolina former lawyer says he will help other J6ers apply for payouts from the Trump‑linked $1.8 billion settlement fund, announced by the administration to compensate those it says were “politically prosecuted.” He offers his services for a 10 % cut of any award, capped at $5 000 per claim.
In a video posted to social media, Johnston said, “I think the narrative is changing” about how the history of that day is being told. “I think good things are happening for us.”
More than 1 600 people charged with Capitol‑riot‑related crimes have been convicted, and then Trump’s mass pardons in 2021 lifted a roof over many of them. The settlement fund, still subject to legal dispute and a federal judge’s temporary freeze, was intended to show “credibility” after the so‑called “weaponized government” lawsuits. Critics argue the fund is a new vehicle for Trump to whitewash Jan. 6, retroactively justifying the assault on the Capitol and rewarding loyalists who broke the law.
Rioters Looking to Claim Compensation
Jason Riddle, a New Hampshire military veteran who was sentenced to 90 days in jail for pleading guilty to riot charges, publicly rejected Trump’s pardon and said he would never accept government compensation for his actions. “We weren’t innocently persecuted because of who we are or who we vote for,” he told reporters. “We were persecuted for committing criminal behavior in the Capitol.”
Opposition to the fund extends beyond Riddle. A Florida man who posed with Nancy Pelosi’s podium, a New Jersey “Nazi sympathizer” who seizes the fund as “good news for victims of weaponization,” and a Texas rioter who spent seven years in prison have all taken to social media to claim payment for their “infamy.”
Oregon resident Pamela Hemphill, sentenced to 60 days in jail, rejected a Trump pardon but drafted a claim letter for $5 million from the fund. She blames Trump’s false election‑theory claims for her legal troubles. “If Trump hadn’t lied about the election being stolen, I wouldn’t have gone through this,” she said.
Legal and Political Roadblocks
The fund’s eligibility rules remain murky. Act‑ing Attorney General Todd Blanche says there are no formal limits, but remarks that five unnamed commissioners will decide who “deserves” to be compensated, weighing factors such as the defendant’s actions, sentence, and time spent in jail.
A federal judge in Virginia has frozen the fund’s formation and stopped all claim processing. The ruling comes amid three lawsuits that challenge the fund’s legitimacy, arguing it is part of a Trump campaign to undermine the national constitution. Former DOJ prosecutor Brendan Ballou, who once tried Jan. 6 cases, says the settlement is a strategic effort to rewrite history.
Jan. 6’s Legacy and The Fund’s Future
Senate Republicans want to impose parameters on the fund, while at the same time they remain divided on whether convicted rioters can ever be recognized as “victims.” The debate is ongoing, with the fund’s future hinging on both court rulings and congressional resolutions.
Johnston’s offer—helping rioters file claims for a 10 % fee—stands in contrast to his own prompt apology in 2022, when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge and served a brief jail sentence. “It was a dumb, dumb thing to do,” he said to a judge, “and I am 100 % responsible for what I did that day.” He now says the settlement fund presents a chance for those who suffered “political persecution.”
Whether the settlement fund will ever deliver payouts remains unclear. The courts have put a hold on it, and Congress is still debating how—or whether—to allow Jan. 6 defendants to benefit from taxpayer money meant for a different purpose.
Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle (Dallas), Mary Claire Jalonick, and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
