The Biden Justice Department turned January 6 defendants into political prisoners.
They were convicted in rigged trials in America's most Democrat city.
And a judge handed Democrats one January 6 defeat that sent the media into a rage.
Judge forced to admit the truth about January 6 prosecutions
Idaho Marine Corps veteran Yvonne St Cyr was one of nearly 1,600 Americans pardoned by President Donald Trump for their actions on January 6, 2021.
St Cyr served half of her 30-month sentence before Trump freed her.
She marched back into court demanding the government refund the $2,270 in financial penalties she paid.
"It's my money," St Cyr told The Washington Post. "They took my money."
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates — the same judge who sentenced her — had no choice but to order the refund.
"Sometimes a judge is called upon to do what the law requires, even if it may seem at odds with what justice or one's initial instincts might warrant," Bates wrote.
The law says she gets her money back.
Democrats can't do anything about it.
Trump's pardons didn't just free January 6 defendants from Biden's political prisons.
The pardons vacated their convictions, restoring their legal presumption of innocence.
When convictions are vacated, the government has to return the money it seized.
Democrats and their media allies are absolutely fuming.
Supreme Court precedent Democrats suddenly hate
At least eight January 6 defendants are pursuing refunds.
Judges already agreed that St Cyr and a Maryland couple should be reimbursed.
Five more are appealing denials.
Democrats are scrambling to block the refunds.
They're running into a problem named Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The late liberal icon wrote a 2017 Supreme Court opinion that's now being used to defend January 6 defendants.
A Colorado woman paid $700 in penalties after being convicted of sexually assaulting her children.
Her conviction was overturned on appeal.
She was later acquitted at a second trial.
The Supreme Court ruled she was "presumed innocent" and entitled to a refund of every penny.
Chief Judge James E. Boasberg cited Ginsburg's opinion in December when ruling in favor of refunds.
"When a conviction is vacated, the Government must return any payments exacted because of it," Boasberg wrote.
Democrats championed Ginsburg for decades.
Now they're furious her own legal framework is protecting January 6 defendants.
Media melts down over legal precedent
The Washington Post worked itself into absolute hysterics over January 6 defendants getting their money back.
"Donald Trump and the DOJ want taxpayers to reimburse a violent mob for the destruction of the U.S. Capitol," whined Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY).
Morelle knows he's lying.
The government isn't "reimbursing" anyone for destruction.
Courts are returning money seized from defendants whose convictions were vacated.
Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn attended St Cyr's sentencing and is now melting down.
"The audacity of them to think they didn't do anything, or to think that they're right and then get their money back," Dunn complained.
The audacity?
These people were prosecuted in Washington, D.C., where 92% of registered voters are Democrats.
Trump got 5% of the vote there in 2020.
They never had a chance at a fair trial.
Texas defendant Stacy Hager spent seven months in prison for four misdemeanor charges — disorderly conduct and trespassing.
He paid $570 in penalties and was the first to demand his money back after Trump's pardon.
"You tell me why I shouldn't be entitled to getting my money back," Hager said. "The government took money from me for doing the right thing, for standing up for the people's vote."
Democrats are pushing legislation to block government payouts.
Without any Republican co-sponsors, the legislation is dead on arrival.
Democrats' witch hunt is collapsing
January 6 defendants paid more than $1.2 million in restitution and fines.
The government recovered less than $665,000 before Trump's pardons.
Judges are ordering refunds for defendants who were appealing their convictions when Trump pardoned them.
Courts vacated those convictions and dismissed the indictments.
Trump's federal prosecutors asked for the dismissals.
Biden’s Justice Department spent years calling these people insurrectionists and terrorists.
Now the Trump Justice Department is asking courts to throw out their convictions and return their money.
These prosecutions were political from day one.
Democrats can rage about Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court precedent protecting the very people they tried to destroy.
The law is the law.
Sources:
- Beth Reinhard, Ellie Silverman, Aaron Schaffer, "They ransacked the US Capitol and want the government to pay them back," The Washington Post, January 22, 2026.
