CNN Catches Up With J6 Rioters Who Claim They Deserve as Much as $30M in Payouts From Trump Fund
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan caught up with J6 rioters who said they deserve massive payouts from Donald Trump’s new “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
The Department of Justice announced the controversial $1.8 billion fund last week in exchange for Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization dropping their $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for leaking tax returns.
The DOJ said anyone who feels they’ve been harmed by the federal government was free to apply, regardless of party affiliation.
“So, the number I’ve put in is $30 million, you know, $21.5 million is for the wrongful imprisonment,” said Brandon Fellows, who was locked up for more than 1,000 days for his part in the Capitol riot.
O’Sullivan said that people like Fellows had begun making claims for compensation even before the DOJ announced its fund.
“What’s the reaction within the wider January 6th community to this fund?” O’Sullivan asked.
“Some people are whining and saying it’s not enough, and we’re not even hearing numbers yet,” Fellows said.
O’Sullivan said Fellows was sentenced on felony and misdemeanor charges for entering the Capitol on January 6th, but those charges were dropped after he received a pardon from the president. Fellows said he turned to ChatGPT and Grok to figure out how much compensation he was owed.
“I’m in at least the 3 to 5% upper tier for how terrible and also how strong of a case I have,” Fellows said.
Rachel Powell, a mom of eight, spent three years under house arrest before she served her prison sentence. She was also pardoned by Trump.
“I don’t deserve this. And my kids don’t deserve it. Like, have we not been through enough?” Powell said.
“That day of breaking a window. Technically, that’s a misdemeanor charge. And yet I had three years of house arrest then having to endure everything I did through prison and getting a five-year sentence on top of that. That’s clearly weaponization,” Powell said.
O’Sullivan said that Fellows still believes the lies about the 2020 election, and even believes that January 6th was a government setup.
“But that’s why I rationalize people, even violent people, getting paid for that day, because the government set it up. And also on top of that, they stole the election,” Fellows said.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
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