DOJ targets Jan. 6 protesters’ donation money.

DOJ Seeks to Forfeit Funds Raised by Capitol Protesters

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is working to prevent “dissidents” from profiting from major protesting events. Texas resident Daniel Goodwyn appeared on Tucker Carlson’s program less than two months after pleading guilty to entering the U.S. Capitol. On the show, he promoted a website where supporters could send money to him and other protesters, referred to as political prisoners. The DOJ is now seeking to forfeit over $25,000 of the money he raised.

Prosecutors are increasingly seeking fines in addition to prison terms to make up for donations from supporters of the U.S. Capitol protesters. Many defendants have started online fundraising campaigns to raise money for their legal fees, and prosecutors have already admitted that it is acceptable and legal for them to do so. However, due to the fact that many of those accused have received government-funded legal representation, the Justice Department has questioned where the money is actually going.

The majority of the fundraising is done through the platform GiveSendGo, which has become a shelter for January 6th defendants who are prohibited from utilizing more mainstream crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe. As they agree to plea bargains and cooperate with prosecutors, the protesters frequently insist on their innocence and insinuate that they are no worse than the BLM rioters, who caused much more property damage and violence overall, all the while being praised by networks like CNN and MSNBC and facing barely any legal repercussions.

“The vast majority of citations and charges against George Floyd protesters were ultimately dropped, dismissed or otherwise not filed, according to a Guardian analysis of law enforcement records and media reports in a dozen jurisdictions around the nation,” the center-left-leaning outlet reported.

The January 6th protestors’ success in collecting donations demonstrates that many Americans continue to support them as patriots and lovers of freedom and truth. That notion has also been strengthened by former President Trump himself, who promised to forgive a “large portion” of protesters if elected.

So far this year, prosecutors have reportedly requested more than $390,000 in fines from at least 21 protester suspects, with amounts ranging from $450 to more than $71,000. Additionally, 33 U.S. Capitol breach defendants have received fines totaling at least $124,127 from judges this year. Judges imposed fines totaling more than $240,000 on more than 100 riot suspects during the previous two years.

Separately, judges have also mandated that hundreds of protesters who were found guilty pay the government more than $524,000 in reparations to offset the more than $2.8 million in damages to the Capitol and other costs associated with the events of January 6th. How they came up with these figures is unclear.

“There’s a segment of the population that is sympathetic toward the plight of these defendants,” said William Shipley, an attorney for Nathaniel DeGrave, one of the men facing the courts who was present on January 6th. 

“Until they admit they committed a crime, they’re perfectly entitled to shout from the rooftops that the only reason they’re being held is because of politics,” Shipley asserted. “It’s just First Amendment political speech.”

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