Robert Gieswein was wearing a “camouflage paramilitary kit” and carrying a baseball bat when he began marching with members of the Proud Boys far-right militia group toward the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to the Justice Department. After they arrived, he sprayed an aerosol irritant at three Capitol Police officers, entered through a broken window frame, threw a punch at another officer, and tried but failed to break through a line of officers guarding a hallway to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police and was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison. But now he wants up to $10 million from the Justice Department’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund, though he told me in an interview that he would be willing to settle for $3 million.
“I’m going to 100 percent apply,” Gieswein said, adding that he is “very good at business and bargaining.” He insisted that he is “100 percent” entitled to the money, “based on the law.”
Last week’s announcement of the $1.776 billion fund by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche didn’t include a word about those who were convicted for the Capitol riot. But about 1,500 of them received a pardon from President Donald Trump hours after he was sworn in for his second term. “These people have been destroyed,” he said.
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Several January 6 rioters told me Trump’s words and actions—not to mention the document signed by Blanche containing vague details about how the money will be awarded—give them confidence they will benefit financially once the Anti-Weaponization Fund is up and running.
