January 6 and Federal Accountability

Rep. Deborah Ross, D‑N.C., is introducing House legislation that would prohibit any federal "January 6th compensation fund" and bar the U.S. Treasury from refunding court‑ordered restitution, fines or special assessments paid by people convicted for the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, including those later pardoned by President Trump. The move comes after a wave of lawsuits and motions by pardoned rioters seeking taxpayer‑funded damages or reimbursement of payments, and after the Trump administration approved an approximately $5 million civil settlement to the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot while breaching the Speaker’s Lobby. Ross argues Trump’s blanket pardons "re‑traumatized" victims by wiping out most of an estimated $3 million in riot damage obligations, only about 15% of which had been collected before clemency, and says Proud Boys and other defendants are now "trying to take people's tax dollars" by casting themselves as victims. U.S. Capitol Police officer Winston Pingeon told a Jan. 6, 2026 House hearing that more than 140 injured officers have received no special compensation fund, underscoring the contrast Ross and allies are drawing between officers’ treatment and rioters’ legal strategies. The bill has backing from the top House Democrats on Judiciary and House Administration and mirrors a Padilla‑sponsored Senate measure, setting up a partisan fight over whether anyone involved in the attack should ever receive federal money beyond existing settlements.