January 6 Crime and Lawsuit Fallout: Trump, Babbitt, Rioters

More than five years after the Capitol riot, the status of January 6 lawsuits and criminal cases is this: federal prosecutions have effectively ended through mass pardons, the criminal case against Donald Trump was dismissed before trial, civil suits brought by lawmakers and police officers remain alive but paused pending an immunity appeal, a $1.776 billion government fund to compensate pardoned rioters is blocked by court order, and a group of rioters has filed a class action of its own against the police who defended the building.

What Happened to the Criminal Prosecutions

The Justice Department’s prosecution of January 6 was the largest in its history, with nearly 1,600 people charged for conduct ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy. Convictions included members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers on seditious conspiracy charges, along with hundreds of guilty pleas and verdicts for assaulting officers, obstruction, and related offenses.¹

That pipeline closed on January 20, 2025. On his first day back in office, President Trump granted a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to everyone convicted of January 6 offenses, directed the Attorney General to seek dismissal of all pending indictments, and ordered anyone still incarcerated released. Fourteen people convicted of the most serious offenses — including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs — received commutations to time served rather than full pardons.²

The Justice Department also voluntarily dismissed separate charges against some pardoned defendants, including firearm offenses, on the theory that those cases were “fruit of the poisonous tree” of the January 6 investigations. District Judge Dabney Friedrich rejected that expansive reading and called it “extraordinary.”³

Clemency has not meant the end of trouble for every recipient. A New York Times investigation found at least 97 people charged in the riot have been accused of new crimes since the attack, 19 of them after the pardons.¹ A House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff report counted at least 33 pardoned individuals facing new charges, including home invasion, kidnapping, and sexual assault.³

The Federal Case Against Trump Is Gone

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal case charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote. It never reached trial. On November 25, 2024, Smith moved to dismiss, citing the longstanding Justice Department position that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.⁴ Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the dismissal without prejudice, which in theory leaves the door open to refiling after Trump leaves office. Smith submitted his final report on January 7, 2025.⁵

The Civil Lawsuits Against Trump

Civil cases filed beginning in 2021 by Democratic members of Congress and Capitol Police officers have outlasted the criminal track. They allege Trump violated the Ku Klux Klan Act — a Reconstruction-era civil rights law aimed at political violence — by conspiring to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. The suits also include claims of aiding and abetting assault, negligence, and violations of D.C. law.

Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington partially consolidated the cases to resolve Trump’s immunity defense.⁶ The main cases include:

Lee v. Trump (formerly Thompson v. Trump), brought by House Democrats including Hank Johnson, Jerrold Nadler, Maxine Waters, Pramila Jayapal, and Barbara Lee, alleging a conspiracy to interfere with the counting of Electoral College votes.⁷
Swalwell v. Trump, brought by Representative Eric Swalwell, alleging civil rights violations and aiding and abetting assault.⁸
Blassingame v. Trump, brought by Capitol Police officers alleging Trump directed the attack.⁹
Smith v. Trump, brought by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of Capitol Police officers under the Ku Klux Klan Act.¹⁰
Garza v. Trump, brought by Sandra Garza, domestic partner of the late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Her wrongful death claim was dismissed because she did not meet the legal definition of a domestic partner, but a survival act claim alleging civil conspiracy to interfere with civil rights was allowed to proceed.¹¹

The Immunity Rulings Driving the Delay

Trump’s central defense has been presidential immunity: his conduct on January 6 was official and shielded from civil liability. Courts have rejected that argument so far. In December 2023, the D.C. Circuit ruled he was not entitled to official-act immunity because he was acting as a candidate, not in his presidential capacity. Trump did not appeal to the Supreme Court.¹²

On March 31, 2026, Judge Mehta issued a 79-page ruling largely denying Trump’s renewed motion for summary judgment on immunity. He found that Trump’s Ellipse speech was “political in nature” and not within “the outer perimeter of his Presidential duties,” and he reached the same conclusion about Trump’s January 2, 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to find 11,780 votes. Mehta did exclude certain other conduct — directions to Justice Department officials and social media posts during the riot — as having “enough official character” to be shielded.¹³ The judge also rejected a Justice Department effort to intervene and certify Trump had acted in his official capacity, which would have terminated the tort claims.¹⁴ The department is appealing.

Where the Civil Cases Stand Now

On June 4, 2026, Judge Mehta granted Trump’s request to pause most of the eight pending civil suits while he appeals the March ruling. Attorneys estimated the pause could run a year or more.¹⁵ One case involving broader conspiracy allegations against the Proud Boys and other extremist groups was allowed to continue with evidence-gathering, though discovery from Trump personally was prohibited. Plaintiffs’ attorney Joseph Sellers has estimated a trial could occur in the spring or summer of 2028.¹³

The $1.776 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund

In January 2026, Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion, alleging it failed to prevent contractor Charles Littlejohn from leaking his tax returns. The case landed in the Southern District of Florida before Judge Kathleen Williams. On May 18, 2026, the Justice Department announced a settlement under which Trump agreed to drop the IRS case along with claims related to the 2016 Russia investigation and the 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. Trump and his family received a formal apology but no direct damages. In their place, the government established a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate people Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described as “victims of lawfare and weaponization.”¹⁶

The money is drawn from the federal Judgment Fund, which Congress uses to pay legal claims against the government. A five-member commission would administer it: four appointees of the Attorney General and one named in consultation with congressional leadership, with the president retaining power to remove any commissioner. The fund is open to anyone claiming to be a victim of government weaponization, with no formal limitation to January 6 defendants, though pardoned rioters have been widely expected to be primary beneficiaries.¹⁷ Some, including Jake Lang, have publicly confirmed they intend to apply, estimating payouts from the hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars.¹⁸

Critics said Trump was effectively on both sides of the deal, suing an agency he controlled and settling with taxpayer money. Representative Jamie Raskin argued “only Congress has the power to appropriate federal dollars, and Congress never authorized a nearly $1.8 billion political slush fund.”¹⁶ More than 90 House Democrats, led by a task force under Representative Joe Neguse, filed an amicus brief asking Judge Williams to dismiss the underlying lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction.¹⁹

Judge Williams initially closed the case after Trump’s attorneys filed a voluntary dismissal notice, but noted no “settlement of record” existed and questioned whether an “actual case or controversy” had ever been present. On May 29, 2026, she revived the case, saying she intended to investigate “grievous allegations” that the settlement was “premised on deception.” Her order followed a filing from a bipartisan group of 35 former federal judges urging her to look into it.²⁰

Separately, on May 20, 2026, former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges filed Dunn v. Trump in D.C. federal court to block the fund entirely, naming Trump, Blanche, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as defendants.¹⁸ They argue the fund violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s prohibition on paying debts “incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States” and that the Justice Department had no legal authority to create it.²¹

On May 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary order in a related case blocking the administration from processing or paying claims, setting up the commission, or transferring money in. No money had been paid and no claims accepted at the time of the order.²² On June 12, 2026, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction in Andrew Floyd et al. v. U.S. Department of Justice, formally blocking the fund while the case proceeds on the merits.²³

Blanche testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee on June 2, 2026, that the Justice Department was “not moving forward with the fund, period.” As of late June, the department had not provided a written commitment ending the fund or a sworn declaration to that effect to any federal court.²⁴

The Ashli Babbitt Settlement

A separate case produced its own payout. In 2025, the Trump administration agreed to pay $4.975 million to settle a wrongful death suit brought by the estate and family of Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force veteran shot and killed by Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd as she tried to breach the House Speaker’s Lobby.²⁵ Byrd had previously been investigated and cleared by local and federal authorities, with prosecutors concluding there was no evidence the officer “willfully” used unreasonable force.²⁶ Outgoing Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said the settlement “sends a chilling message to law enforcement nationwide, especially to those with a protective mission like ours.”

Rioters Sue the Police

On March 27, 2026, a group of January 6 participants filed a class action in the Middle District of Florida before Judge Paul Byron, alleging Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police officers used excessive force against them during the riot. The lead plaintiffs in Sullivan v. United States are Patrick and Marie Sullivan and Alan Fischer, described as a Florida man with ties to the Proud Boys.²⁷

The suit includes 46 named plaintiffs and seeks more than $18.4 million, with the proposed class potentially extending to hundreds or thousands.²⁸ The complaint alleges officers “indiscriminately launched explosive munitions, chemical agents, and impact projectiles into a peaceful crowd” without the required verbal warnings, and brings claims of assault, battery, and negligence.²⁷ As of early June 2026, the case is in its initial stages, with class certification scheduling under way. The Justice Department has not yet responded.²⁹

1
The New York Times. Jan. 6 New Crimes
2
The White House. Granting Pardons and Commutation of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events at or Near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021
3
House Judiciary Committee Democrats. Ranking Member Raskin: Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardons Look Even More Awful a Year Later
4
NPR. Jan. 6 Trump Case
5
Department of Justice. Report of Special Counsel Smith, Volume 1
6
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Smith v. Trump
7
Roll Call. Lawmakers, Capitol Police Still Pursuing Trump in Jan. 6 Lawsuits
8
Justia. Swalwell v. Trump, Memorandum Opinion
9
Just Security. Litigation Tracker: Pending Criminal and Civil Cases Against Donald Trump
10
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Smith v. Trump
11
NBC News. Judge Dismisses Wrongful Death Claim Against Trump, Brian Sicknick’s Assailants
12
Cohen Milstein. Thompson et al. v. Trump et al.
13
Politico. Trump Setback in Civil Suits Over Capitol Riot
14
Roll Call. Judge Denies Trump Effort to End Jan. 6 Lawsuits Before Trial
15
The Indiana Lawyer. Trump Wins Delay to Jan. 6 Civil Suits During Bid for Immunity
16
Politico. Trump IRS Lawsuit Settlement
17
PBS NewsHour. Why Legal Experts Say Trump’s New Anti-Weaponization Fund Is Unprecedented
18
NPR. Officers Who Defended Capitol Sue
19
Rep. Joe Neguse. Rep. Neguse: Trump’s Corrupt $1.7 Billion Slush Fund — Very Clear Red Line Has Been Drawn
20
The New York Times. Trump IRS Lawsuit Ruling
21
CNN. Police Officers Sue to Block Trump Fund
22
ABC7. Judge Temporarily Blocks Payouts From Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Settlement Fund
23
Democracy Forward. Federal Court Blocks Trump-Vance Administration’s $1.776 Billion Slush Fund While the Case Continues
24
U.S. Senate. Letter to Blanche
25
Politico. Ashli Babbitt Trump Settlement
26
CNN. Ashli Babbitt Settlement, Capitol Riot
27
The Hill. Jan. 6 Rioters Seek Millions in Lawsuit Accusing Police of Excessive Force
28
NBC News. Jan. 6 Rioters Accuse Police of Excessive Force in Class Action Lawsuit
29
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Sullivan v. United States