![\"Enrique](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIA_NOKINGPROTEST_MIAMI5852.jpeg\" "\\"Enrique")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, at the \u2018No Kings\u2019 anti-Trump protest at the Torch of Friendship monument at Bayfront Park in Miami on June 14, 2025.<\/p>\n
Photo by Alexia Fodere<\/p>\n
Miami Herald<\/p>\n
A $1.776 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund announced by the Trump administration to pay people who say they were wrongly investigated or prosecuted by the government has rightly been called little more than a slush fund.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an idea that has faced widespread bipartisan condemnation, with Republicans as some of the fiercest critics. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, for example, called the anti-weaponization fund, \u201cstupid on stilts<\/a>\u201d and a \u201cpayout for punks.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n But the knowledge that Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boy leader from Miami, is looking for a payout from the fund makes the whole thing even worse, if that\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in planning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison but was pardoned by President Trump \u2014 along with about 1,600 other people \u2014 after he served three years.<\/p>\n The pardon wasn\u2019t enough for Tarrio. Now he wants money. In an interview with CBS News Miami<\/a>, Tarrio said, \u201cLook, people don\u2019t have to like me, but to say that I got 22 years, correctly, is wrong. I was targeted, and I do believe that this fund does apply to me.\u201d<\/p>\n How much does he think he should get? As he told PBS News,<\/a> he believes he\u2019s entitled to \u201csomewhere in the mid-tens of millions.\u201d<\/p>\n Remember, this is the guy who wrote, \u201cMake no mistake. We did this,\u201d on social media during the deadly riot, which was an effort to overturn the results of a legitimate election. Prosecutors said he was \u201ca general rather than a soldier\u201d when a violent mob stormed our seat of government and attacked police officers.<\/p>\n We remember him in Miami long before Jan. 6 as an extremist with a bullhorn and a black shirt. And then there was that time in 2018 when he was with a GOP mob screaming expletives and pounding on the door of the Miami campaign headquarters for then-congressional candidate Donna Shalala while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was visiting.<\/p>\n Neither Tarrio nor other Jan. 6 defendants \u2014 many of whom are from Florida \u2014 should receive a dime in payout, let alone one at taxpayers\u2019 expense. Attacking the Capitol and assaulting police officers should not be rewarded \u2014 it must be condemned.<\/p>\n The fund itself shouldn\u2019t even exist \u2014 it\u2019s part of an agreement between the U.S. Justice Department, the IRS and Trump to settle Trump\u2019s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his and the Trump Organization\u2019s tax returns and other claims. Trump settling with the government is, at this point in our endangered democracy, the equivalent of settling with himself \u2014 and then taking almost $2 billion from the Treasury for a fund to pay off his supporters.<\/p>\n The idea that this is about pushing back on weaponization of the government is rich. This is an administration that specializes in just that, launching \u201cinvestigations\u201d into political adversaries of the president \u2014 former FBI Director James Comey and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault and successfully sued him, among them. Now Trump\u2019s going even further, unilaterally creating a billion-dollar fund of taxpayer money to compensate political allies. Executive overreach and abuse of power, anyone?<\/p>\n In a rare bipartisan move, GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania joined Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi from New York last week in an effort to stop creation of the fund, introducing the Bipartisan Transparency for American Taxpayers Act,<\/a> which would prohibit using federal dollars to pay claims submitted to the Anti-Weaponization Fund.<\/p>\n Florida Republican and gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds \u2014 who supports the fund \u2014 has questioned the process. \u201cI think Congress should have a say in the outcomes with this fund,\u201d he said, according to Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maybe everyone needs a reminder of what happened on Jan. 6. Roughly 140 police officers were injured. Members of Congress and their staff barricaded themselves in their offices while the certification process for the presidential election \u2014 which Joe Biden won \u2014 was halted. Insurrectionists smashed windows and marched through the halls of Congress.<\/p>\n Actions should have consequences regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. Taxpayers shouldn\u2019t be required to bankroll Tarrio\u2019s grievances. Paying Jan. 6 defendants sends the message that attacks on democratic institutions and political violence are rewarded with financial compensation. That\u2019s a dangerous precedent, even by Trump\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n BEHIND THE STORY MORE <\/a> What’s an editorial? <\/p>\n Editorials<\/a> are opinion pieces that reflect the views of the Miami Herald Editorial Board, a group of opinion journalists that operates separately from the Miami Herald newsroom. Miami Herald Editorial Board<\/a> members are: opinion editor Amy Driscoll and editorial writers Isadora Rangel and Mary Anna Mancuso. Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.<\/p>\n What’s the difference between an op-ed and a column? <\/p>\n Op-Eds<\/a>, short for \u201copposite the editorial page,\u201d are opinion pieces written by contributors who are not affiliated with our Editorial Board. <\/p>\n Columns<\/a> are recurring opinion pieces that represent the views of staff columnists that regularly appear on the op-ed page. <\/p>\n How does the Miami Herald Editorial Board decide what to write about? <\/p>\n The Editorial Board, made up of experienced opinion journalists, primarily addresses local and state issues that affect South Florida residents. Each board member has an area of focus, such as education, COVID or local government policy. Board members meet daily and bring up an array of topics for discussion. Once a topic is fully discussed, board members will further report the issue, interviewing stakeholders and others involved and affected, so that the board can present the most informed opinion possible. We strive to provide our community with thought leadership that advocates for policies and priorities that strengthen our communities. Our editorials promote social justice, fairness in economic, educational and social opportunities and an end to systemic racism and inequality. The Editorial Board is separate from the reporters and editors of the Miami Herald newsroom.<\/p>\n How can I contribute to the Miami Herald Opinion section? <\/p>\n The Editorial Board accepts op-ed submissions of 650-700 words from community members who want to argue a specific viewpoint or idea that is relevant to our area. You can email an op-ed submission to oped@miamiherald.com. We also accept 150-word letters to the editor from readers who want to offer their points of view on current issues. For more information on how to submit a letter, go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, at the \u2018No Kings\u2019 anti-Trump protest at the Torch of Friendship…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-288013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}