Jan. 6 defendants still eyeing payouts, despite scrapped $1.8B fund

Despite the Department of Justice saying it is scrapping plans to launch a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund," many Jan. 6 defendants are still eyeing payouts using other legal paths to secure settlements from the Trump administration.

One prominent attorney for Jan. 6 defendants told ABC News that he plans to submit claims against the federal government for approximately 400 clients, with a recent lawsuit he filed for nine people requesting at least $1 million in damages per person.

President Donald Trump seemingly endorsed similar attempts to receive compensation from the government, saying in a podcast this week that "they should be reimbursed" despite his administration dropping its proposed compensation fund.

"I'm very proud to have given them pardons. And I think they should be reimbursed for a crooked government," Trump said, appearing to reference the blanket clemency he granted to nearly 1,600 people associated with the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol.

Under federal law, individuals who allege they were harmed by the federal government can apply for payouts under the Federal Tort Claims Act. If the federal government does not respond to those claims within six months, those individuals are eligible to file lawsuits seeking damages.

Peter Ticktin, a lawyer in Florida who represents hundreds of Jan 6. defendants, told ABC News that he has already filed claims for approximately 200 clients. Amid the flurry of interest following the announcement of the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," he said he expects to file claims for an additional 200 clients and is "very optimistic" the Trump administration will be more receptive to claims going forward.

"As much as we're disappointed that the plan was canceled, right now we're still very optimistic," he said.

According to Ticktin, the federal government had generally ignored the claims he already filed -- "basically no conversations at all" -- but hopes that lawyers with the US Attorney's Office in D.C. under Jeanine Pirro will be more cooperative in the future. Ticktin's lawsuit seeking damages of at least $1 million for each of the plaintiffs was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The nine plaintiffs alleged they were wrongly and vindictively prosecuted, alleging a wide range of misconduct by law enforcement and hardships due to being charged. Seven of the plaintiffs were ultimately convicted, and all received pardons last year.

Tickin said that most of his clients have been understanding of the Trump administration's decision to scrap the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and are optimistic about their claims going forward.

"Everybody just understands that the timing wasn't right, and they get it," he said.

He added that the DOJ officials should have ruled out defendants who were charged with assaulting police officers because they were not victims of "weaponization."

"The biggest problem with the fund was the lack of the DOJ's ability to simply explain it," he said.

Others -- such as David Johnston, a South Carolina attorney who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 -- told ABC News they are optimistic the Department of Justice might reconsider the decision to kill the compensation fund.

"I guess the question is whether [Acting Attorney General Todd] Blanche is the final word," Johnston said. "By title and in law he's not, but he could be speaking for somebody higher up and that might be accurate. It remains to be seen."

When the fund was announced, Johnston offered on social media to help other Jan 6. defendants apply for payouts.

"If the fund remains in existence, I'm still available to help anybody that wants to apply," he said.

The South Carolina lawyer said that while there are other paths to pursue compensation from the government, the "excitement" about the fund was that it could be "quicker" and "easier."

"It could be more akin to applying for a government program or government grant, and so I think that was the excitement," he said.

More than 1,580 people were charged criminally in federal court in connection with Jan. 6, according to the Department of Justice. More than 1,000 pleaded guilty. At least 221 individuals were found guilty at contested trials and another 40 individuals were convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts presented to and accepted by the court.