January 8, 2026
Democrats Ban Together To Block Any Jan. 6 Rioter Compensation Funds At Taxpayers Expense
One settlement has already been established and funded by the Trump administration to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the riot participant who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she smashed a window in an attempt to climb into the House Speaker's Lobby.
Five years after the world witnessed the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, Senate Democrats have introduced a new bill that would block taxpayer money from being used to financially reward convicted and some now-pardoned rioters, CBS News reports.
The “No Settlements for 5 January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act,” sponsored by California Sen. Alex Padilla, who is also the vice-chair of the Senate Rules Committee, prohibits any compensation fund from being established for rioters. It also bans the usage of federal tax money to pay civil legal settlements against the Jan. 6 defendants who were convicted of assaulting police officers.
While President Donald Trump has pardoned some of the insurrectionists, Padilla says the bill, co-sponsored by Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, will “hold these rioters accountable and protect taxpayers by putting an end to Donald Trump’s callous attempt to rewrite history.” “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,” Padilla said in a statement.
While Jan. 6 rioters have showcased support for the idea of a reparations fund to reimburse the criminal defendants for the cost of their legal expenses, prosecutions, and expenses, Whitehouse calls the pardons “a slap in the face” and will fight for the officers who risked their lives that day, despite how MAGA loyalists tried to spin the narrative. “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,” the senator said.
“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.”
One settlement has already been established and funded by the Trump administration for the family of Ashli Babbitt, the riot participant who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she smashed a window in an attempt to climb into the House Speaker’s Lobby. The U.S. Department of Justice approved the estimated $5 million settlement in May 2025.
One attorney, Mark McCloskey, who labels himself a champion for “the cause of J6 compensation,” spoke out on social media as word of the bill started to float and the country was reminded of the fifth anniversary. He says he will do all he can to make sure funds are created. “To all the J6 political prisoners out there– I’m doing everything I can to expedite the establishment of a claims resolution procedure so we can get you back on your feet and get you some real justice,” he wrote on X.
“ I won’t stop fighting, and I will never back down.”
Padilla and Whitehouse aren’t the only ones pushing Jan. 6 legislation. In New York, Democratic State Sen. John Liu and Assembly Member Charles Lavine introduced a bill that, if passed, would make it mandatory for public schools to teach about the history-making incident and the chaos that followed.
According to Fox 5 NY, Lavine said there are Republican counterparts that agree with them but claim they “are not allowed” to put their names on the legislation. “We saw what happened that day. Even the people who will be against the bill, some would like to support it…but many of them fully approve of what occurred on that day,” Lavine said, calling those leaders “tragic.”
“And that’s why we need to make sure our children are taught the truth.”
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