The Justice Department on Monday asked a court to throw out a proposed class action filed by Jan. 6 defendants under the Federal Tort Claims Act, saying the case cannot move forward because the claims came too late under the law’s statute of limitations.
“All the claims in the Complaint are ‘forever barred’ due to the failure to timely file the administrative claim with the agency,” the Justice Department said in its filing.
The plaintiffs allege they were harmed on Jan. 6, 2021, claiming they suffered injuries as a result of “excessive police force.” But federal attorneys said the paperwork they submitted was incomplete in several respects, describing the forms as “only partially completed” and noting that some were missing signatures and supporting materials.
Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, people seeking to sue the federal government generally must act within two years, along with meeting other procedural requirements before a lawsuit can proceed. Because the plaintiffs themselves say their injuries stemmed from police actions on January 6, 2021, the Justice Department argued that any FTCA claim had to be filed by Jan. 6, 2023.
According to the department, the earliest claim from any of the named plaintiffs was dated July 29, 2025 — more than two years after the FTCA deadline had passed.
Government lawyers argued that the plaintiffs were aware both of their alleged injuries and of who they believed caused them, but waited far beyond the legal window to pursue their claims.
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The filing came shortly after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a Sunday night order rescinding a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that had been intended to compensate allies of President Trump. The order, however, does not contain language blocking possible government restitution or payments to people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
A former Justice Department attorney said Blanche’s unilateral move to rescind the “anti-weaponization” fund carries no legal force and would not stop the fund from being restored later.
