DALLAS — Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday that anyone can apply to a new $1.8 billion Justice Department “weaponization” fund, and wouldn’t rule out Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes as someone who could receive a payout. Rhodes, a Texas resident and leader of the far-right militia, was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the ...

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives at the U.S Capitol on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

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DALLAS — Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday that anyone can apply to a new $1.8 billion Justice Department “weaponization” fund, and wouldn’t rule out Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes as someone who could receive a payout.

Rhodes, a Texas resident and leader of the far-right militia, was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and sentenced to 18 years in prison, one of the longest sentences handed down in the case.

President Donald Trump commuted Rhodes' sentence on his first day back in office as part of a sweeping clemency order benefiting Jan. 6 defendants.

The fund for people improperly targeted by the government is open to anyone who applies, said Blanche, who has faced growing questions from both parties about the fund since signing a memo establishing it.

“Some people believe that, not just with January 6 but in all kinds of areas, that there was a punishment that was not normal, that was atypical of the crime that was committed,” he said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News during a visit to Dallas, adding, “that’s something … I would expect the commissioners to take into account.”

He said appointed commissioners would set the rules for how claims are reviewed and who receives money, including what weight to give a person’s sentence or the conduct in their case.

Ed Tarpley, an attorney for Rhodes, said Rhodes hasn’t decided whether to seek money from it. He said they were taking it “one day at a time” while awaiting a ruling on the Justice Department’s request last week to dismiss Rhodes’ indictment.

“We’ll make a decision once we get the ruling from the court on the DOJ motion,” Tarpley said of the fund in an interview Thursday.

Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 have sued to try to block the fund. Some Republican lawmakers have also spoken out against it.

Rhodes has attempted to regroup the Oath Keepers and raise money online while saying he was “unjustly targeted by the ‘Biden regime’ after January 6.” A website soliciting donations has raised $4,852 as of Thursday, a tiny fraction of its $75,000 goal.

Blanche spoke to reporters at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, where he appeared with FBI Director Kash Patel and leaders from other federal law enforcement agencies during the Professionalizing Law Enforcement–Community Engagement Training Conference. Patel did not speak with The News.

Blanche also weighed in on Operation Red Card, a 10-week enforcement effort between federal and local authorities in Dallas-Fort Worth ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

“It's a great example of agents working with prosecutors to really target a problem and arrest bad guys,” he said.

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