Story perspectives

Judge Extends Injunction, Blocks $1.8 B Anti-Weaponization Fund

6/13/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, extended a preliminary injunction indefinitely, blocking the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund.
The Justice Department never formed the five-member commission, leaving $1.8 billion unused and able to pay Jan 6 rioters pardoned by President Donald Trump.
The plaintiffs include a fired prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the administration is scrapping the fund after backlash.

History

Historical Context

The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people, spurred Congress to pass the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 and create a $1.5 billion victim compensation fund signed by President Bill Clinton. That fund later paid roughly 1,200 victims, and its legal legacy underpins the Justice Department’s 2022 anti-weaponization initiative now blocked by Judge Leonie Brinkema’s injunction.

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Story summary

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, extended a preliminary injunction indefinitely, blocking the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund.
The Justice Department never formed the five-member commission, leaving $1.8 billion unused and able to pay Jan 6 rioters pardoned by President Donald Trump.
The plaintiffs include a fired prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the administration is scrapping the fund after backlash.

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