DOJ refuses to fork over pardoned rioter's repayment as Trump pushes for $1.8B slush fund

The Justice Department is refusing to return $2,000 in restitution paid by a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter, even as the administration separately pushed for a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate President Donald Trump's allies targeted by what he calls "lawfare."

Prosecutors argue Felicia Konold, an Arizona woman who pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement during the Capitol attack, isn't entitled to a refund because she never appealed her conviction before receiving a pardon, CNN reported Friday.

In a Thursday filing, prosecutors wrote that Konold "cannot obtain the return of these funds because her conviction was final at the time of the pardon and has not been vacated."

Konold and her brother Cory Konold joined a group of Proud Boys who marched to the Capitol and was among the first to breach police barricades; she served 45 days in prison, reports show.

The DOJ has argued that rioters whose appeals were still pending when Trump issued his blanket pardons have been allowed to drop their restitution payments, while those like Konold, whose convictions were already final, have not.

A District of Columbia appeals court is currently weighing challenges from several defendants caught on the wrong side of that distinction.

The case unfolds against the backdrop of the now-defunct $1.776 billion fund, created earlier this year out of a settlement between the IRS and Trump over his leaked tax information, intended to pay out those the president claims were victims of weaponized prosecutions.

The fund drew bipartisan criticism and became a flashpoint in Todd Blanche's confirmation fight, largely over concerns it could funnel payments to Capitol rioters.

Blanche ultimately declared the fund dead under pressure from Senate Republicans, but has suggested alleged victims pursue civil lawsuits instead — a strategy that has already paid off for Trump allies like Michael Flynn.

Last August, Judge John D. Bates became the first to order restitution returned to a January 6 defendant, Yvonne St. Cyr, writing that he had not found her "innocent of the crimes for which she was convicted," but that the law required the outcome regardless.