Former President Donald Trump indicated that his administration is exploring the possibility of creating a compensation fund for those who were pardoned following the events of January 6, 2021, when individuals stormed the Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of his election loss to former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
During a recent interview with the conservative media outlet Newsmax, Trump mentioned on Tuesday that discussions were underway concerning financial restitution for the rioters.
When asked if he was contemplating a “compensation fund” due to the rioters missing work and other opportunities during their prosecutions, he affirmed, “there’s a lot of talk about that,” adding that “people in government really appreciated that group of individuals.”
“As far as I’m concerned, they were patriots,” Trump stated. “I mention them frequently. They encountered a lot of unfair treatment.”
In one of the initial actions of his second presidential term, Trump granted clemency to nearly 1,600 individuals charged in relation to the Capitol incident, pardoning most and commuting the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia, many of whom faced convictions for seditious conspiracy.
Trump has previously labeled the rioters as “hostages” and victims of an unjust legal system, continuing to assert that the pro-Trump crowd, which assaulted law enforcement, vandalized property, and issued threats against his vice president, conducted themselves in a largely peaceful manner.
In the Tuesday interview, Trump reiterated that the assembly was “peaceful and patriotic.” He also made the unfounded claim that he had won the 2020 election.
Additionally, during the interview, Trump expressed his intention to investigate the case of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to breach a barrier and access the speaker’s lobby through a shattered window during the chaos.
In response to the interviewer’s remark that the Justice Department is currently defending the government against a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her family, and whether it should be settled, Trump stated he would “take a look at it.” He also mentioned he would review the status of the officer who shot Babbitt and remains a federal employee.
“I’m going to look into that, because what happened to Ashli Babbitt is very tragic,” he remarked. “That entire situation, that whole timeframe, and the actions taken were profoundly regrettable. It was a dreadful period.”
