US judge temporarily blocks Trump's $1.8 billion anti-gun fund

A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily stopped President Donald Trump’s administration from creating a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate individuals Trump has described as victims of government “weaponization,” Reuters reported.

As reported by Reuters, the order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkem of the Eastern District of Virginia blocks the Trump administration from “taking further steps” to establish or operate the fund until the judge hears additional legal arguments. The order will remain in effect until at least June 12.

Last week, the Justice Department announced the creation of an “Anti-Gun Fund” as part of a settlement agreement against Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax records.

The administration has set up a $1.776 billion fund to be run by a five-member commission to provide compensation to individuals who can prove they were victims of “the law” and “weaponization,” terms Trump and his allies often use to describe investigations and criminal cases against them, Reuters reported.

Friday’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by the group, which claimed the Trump-Vance administration targeted them as ideological and political opponents and argued they would be excluded from compensation from the fund, the report said.

“This is a victory for transparency, the rule of law and the American people,” said Skye Perryman, head of Democracy Forward, the anti-Trump group that filed the lawsuit, Reuters reported. “No administration has the authority to spend public money through a political bounty program.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said there are no partisan requirements for who is eligible for compensation. The fund has drawn opposition, including from some Trump GOP lawmakers who expressed anger that some of the people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be receiving taxpayer-funded payouts. It was widely derided as a “slush fund” that would reward Trump’s political allies, Reuters reported.

Brinkema said the temporary injunction was necessary to maintain the status quo and prevent an “irreversible disbursement” of funds before considering the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order against the fund.

The class of plaintiffs includes a former Justice Department prosecutor who prosecuted the Jan. 6 rioters and a California professor who was arrested during protests against an immigration raid.

The lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward is one of at least three legal challenges to the creation of the fund.

(With inputs from Reuters)