Chief Judge of the D.C. Federal Court Beryl Howell has questioned why the Justice Department is only asking Capitol rioters to pay less than $1.5 million in damages when the total cost to American taxpayers amounts to half a billion dollars.
“Where we have Congress appropriating all this money due directly to the events on January 6, I have found the damage amount of less than $1.5 million, when all of us American taxpayers are about to foot the bill for close to half a billion dollars, a little bit surprising,” Howell said. “I’m accustomed to the government being fairly aggressive.”
Glenn Wes Lee Croy, a rioter who pleaded guilty on Monday to misdemeanor charges, was asked to pay $500 in restitution. Rioters who have pleaded guilty to felony charges have only been asked to pay $2,000 in restitution
Since the Jan. 6 insurrection, Howell has often questioned whether or not prosecutors are effectively working to deter similar attacks in the future.
