‘LITTLE BIT SURPRISING’

Judge: Why Are Capitol Rioters Only Paying $1.5M in Damages?

A federal judge has asked why taxpayers are paying hundreds of times more than the Jan. 6 insurrection defendants.

A federal judge has spotted something a little off with who’s ponying up the cash for the damage done during the pro-Trump Capitol riot. According to The Washington Post, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell voiced her surprise in court Monday that Capitol riot defendants have been ordered to pay just $1.5 million in damages—when the bill for taxpayers could add up to more than $500 million. Suggesting that the Department of Justice is being far too lenient on the riot defendants, Howell said: “Where we have Congress acting, appropriating all this money due directly to the events of Jan. 6th, I have found the damage amount of less than $1.5 million—when all of us American taxpayers are about to foot the bill for close to half a billion dollars—a little bit surprising.” Howell added that the government is typically “fairly aggressive” when gathering restitution from criminal acts, making its apparent caution with the Capitol rioters more difficult to explain. The DoJ hasn’t commented on the judge’s queries.