1 of 5 | Proud Boys and pro-Trump supporters gather and march to protest against the Electoral College vote count that would certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
May 28 (UPI) -- In little more than a week since the Trump administration announced the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, lawsuits have been filed to block it from paying out to Jan. 6 rioters.
The Public Integrity Project was the first to file a lawsuit to block the fund last week. Democracy Forward, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., also filed a lawsuit on Friday. Both groups allege that the Anti-Weaponization Fund is a "slush fund."
Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, told UPI that the basis for establishing the fund stands on shaky legal ground. Ballou is a former special counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
The fund, announced by the Department of Justice and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last week, is to be filled by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to pay out as a settlement agreement to be paid to "victims of lawfare and weaponization."
