It’s been quite difficult to keep up with the number of pardoned Jan. 6 rioters who have run into fresh trouble with the law, even after receiving clemency from Donald Trump, in large part because the list keeps growing. This week, for example, Daniel Tocci, a Massachusetts man who received a presidential pardon, was sentenced to four years in prison on child pornography charges.

Earlier in the month, a different Jan. 6 rioter, who had also been rescued by Trump, was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children.

In light of the astonishing number of insurrectionists who have either been accused of or convicted of crimes after receiving a presidential pardon, the editorial board of The New York Times published a notable opinion piece that argued, “The American public deserves to understand the mayhem that the Jan. 6 pardons have unleashed.”

But as some Jan. 6 rioters ended up in court to face criminal charges, others headed to court for a very different reason. Politico reported:

Members of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 are suing the federal government for tens of millions of dollars in damages, claiming that the ‘indiscriminate’ use of force by police officers repelling the attack caused them physical and emotional injuries.

The lawsuit, filed in Florida, takes aim at the conduct of Capitol Police and Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, whose outnumbered officers fended off the mob for hours while members of Congress fled.

This might seem like a twisted joke, but the civil litigation is quite real: A group of Jan. 6 rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol as part of an insurrectionist assault on American democracy. They faced resistance from law enforcement officers who protected the U.S. seat of government. The rioters, unsatisfied with presidential pardons, now want a taxpayer-financed payoff for their troubles.

In a normal and healthy political environment, the public could count on a case like this one being thrown out of court. But in 2026, it’s likely that the rioters will get a generous payday — because that’s what keeps happening.

It was almost a year ago, for example, that Trump’s Justice Department reached a settlement with the family of Ashli Babbitt, the Jan. 6 rioter who was fatally shot by a police officer during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. As part of the agreement, the Republican administration announced plans to pay roughly $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt’s relatives.

The settlement was awfully tough to defend, especially given the weakness of the civil case, though the developments hinted at a larger issue: Team Trump was on board with the idea of offering generous, taxpayer-funded payments to the president’s political allies.

Last week, it happened again. Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn filed an equally outlandish civil suit, claiming wrongful prosecution in a case in which he had already pleaded guilty (twice) to the underlying charges. Trump’s Justice Department agreed to a settlement with him, too, reportedly worth $1.25 million.

With these developments in mind, why wouldn’t Jan. 6 rioters line up for a slice of the pie? The president has already expressed an interest in giving them taxpayer money anyway, and their baseless civil suit offers a convenient vehicle for Trump to use the national treasury to reward some his most radical followers.

I’d put the odds of a generous settlement at around 100%.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

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