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WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced this week an elegant, two-part solution to one of Washington’s most persistent problems: Capitol Police officers still have their guns, and Jan. 6 rioters don’t.
Under the Anti-Weaponization Fund’s mandatory buyback program, officers who defended the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 will be required to surrender their service weapons, pepper spray, and batons at a DOJ processing center. The weapons will then be transferred — at no additional cost — to Jan. 6 defendants as part of their compensation package under the fund.
“The Justice Department takes a holistic view of weaponization,” said a senior DOJ official, speaking on the condition of anonymity and that we specifically call out his judicious use of air quotes. “There’s the legal kind — the charges, the prosecutions, the so-called ‘evidence’ and indisputable facts that demonstrated a clear violation of ‘the law’ on just about every single occasion. And then there’s the literal kind. Guns. Pepper spray. Batons. The Capitol Police brought all of it. We’re addressing all of it.”
“Everybody ‘wins,’” he added. “The officers get fair market value. The rioters get the equipment. It’s elegant, really.”
Officers will allegedly receive a check. Rioters will receive, among other things, the actual pepper spray that was used on them, which the DOJ acknowledged was “a little poetic.”
The program, officials stressed, is entirely fair. The buyback prices are competitive. The DOJ consulted several online retailers to establish market rates. Officers uncomfortable with the arrangement were reminded that the word “mandatory” appears in the program’s official guidelines three times, which is two more times than the word “voluntary.”
“Nobody is being forced to do anything they aren’t being forced to do,” the official said.
The fund itself — $1.776 billion drawn from the federal Judgment Fund — was established as part of a settlement between President Trump and the IRS, an agency he sued after it leaked his tax returns, and then settled with after concluding that he was in charge of it. The money is intended to compensate Americans who suffered from “weaponized” prosecution and “lawfare.” Capitol Police officers who asked whether being beaten with flagpoles qualified were told that it did not, but that their Glocks had a strong resale value and they should focus on the positive.
Two officers filed suit Wednesday to block the fund entirely. Legal experts noted they face an uphill battle establishing standing, particularly given that the Acting Attorney General was standing right next to the President and two of the three Supreme Court justices he appointed on the 9th hole at Bedminster, a fact the DOJ described as “a coincidence and also none of your business.”
Sen. Susan Collins called the arrangement “highly irregular.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was “not a big fan.” The DOJ thanked them for their input.
The Capitol Police employs roughly 2,300 officers and civilian employees. At $2,000 per officer, the buyback costs approximately $4.6 million — leaving $1.771 billion with no specified destination. Asked about the discrepancy aboard Air Force One, President Trump told the reporter that she was “very rude” and that he’d “answer the pretty ones first,” then called on nobody and left.
Administration officials pushed back on suggestions that stripping the Capitol Police of their weapons could leave the building defenseless in the event of another attack. “That’s an extremely unlikely scenario,” said the official, who then declined to elaborate on what scenario they had in mind. In the interim, officers will be issued a whistle.
Qualifying officers have been instructed to report to the processing center by end of business Friday. They should bring their service weapons, their badge, and the understanding that the men who will be receiving their firearms are, by the President’s account, very fine people who have been through a lot.
The DOJ asks that officers please empty the chambers first.
