Department of Justice Says Some Jan. 6 Restitution Fees Should Be Reimbursed

The new position was outlined in an April 8 filing.

A large group of protesters gather on the East steps of the Capitol Building shortly after the breach in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said in a new court filing that some people who faced charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol should be reimbursed for the money they paid in restitution.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in an April 8 filing that Stacy Hager, one of those pardoned, is entitled to reimbursement for the $570 he paid under court order.

Hager was among the approximately 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump as a court considered his appeal of a conviction on four counts, including disorderly conduct. In late February, he asked the federal court in Washington to order the reimbursement, noting that the court had vacated his conviction after the pardon was issued.

“The D.C. Circuit invalidated Mr. Hager’s conviction, and no retrial will occur. Therefore ... the Clerk of Court must refund all Mr. Hager’s fines, fees, and restitution,” a lawyer representing Hager said in a filing.

The lawyer cited a 2017 Supreme Court decision in which justices ruled that when a criminal conviction is invalidated and no retrial will take place, states must refund restitution and other fees to defendants.

DOJ officials said they agreed Hager is entitled to the $500 he paid in restitution and the $70 he paid in fees.

While many pardoned defendants are not eligible for reimbursement, prosecutors said those whose cases are invalidated and who will not be retired are eligible, pointing to the same Supreme Court ruling.

“Here, Hager’s conviction was ‘invalidated’ when the D.C. Circuit vacated it, and thus ’there is no longer any basis justifying the government’s retaining funds exacted only as a result of that conviction,'” they wrote, quoting from a different decision. “The government thus agrees that, so long as the Clerk of Court confirms that Hager, in fact, made the special assessment and restitution payments he seeks to have returned, Hager is entitled to reimbursement of those payments.”

The judge overseeing the case has not yet ruled on Hager’s motion.

A lawyer representing Hager declined to comment.

Government officials have estimated that the Jan. 6 breach left damage that cost $2.7 million to repair.

Many of those convicted were ordered to pay restitution, typically from $500 to $2,000, on top of prison sentences and fines.

It’s not clear how much money in total has been paid in restitution.

The architect of the Capitol, responsible for maintaining the Capitol and other historic buildings nearby, did not return an inquiry.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not respond to a request for details on where the money would come from if the motion is granted.

U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, who heads the office, said in a 2024 podcast that he wanted what he described as reparations for Jan. 6 defendants.

“I believe that everyone that has been targeted on January 6, they should get a big pot of money, like the asbestos money we got for victims of asbestos,” he said at the time.