A federal judge has maintained a block on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, despite the DOJ's claims that the fund has been abandoned. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema extended the block she issued two weeks prior during a hearing in Virginia, expressing skepticism about the DOJ's public statements regarding the fund's status. Brinkema has requested that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche provide a sworn declaration affirming that the fund will not be revived within a week.
The DOJ argued that the case is moot, citing statements from Blanche and other officials indicating that the fund would not proceed. The proposed fund has faced multiple lawsuits, including one from police officers involved in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. In a separate case in D.C., a judge accepted the DOJ's assertion that the fund was no longer active but warned that action would be taken if the DOJ attempted to restart it. The fund was initially announced by Blanche on May 18 as part of efforts to compensate individuals allegedly targeted by the DOJ during the Biden administration.