Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, has said the fight to preserve President Donald Trump administration's "anti-weaponization" fund will continue after the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would abide by a court order temporarily halting the program.

The roughly $1.8 billion fund was intended, according to the DOJ, to compensate people who said they were unfairly targeted by the federal government, but it drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

Writing on X, Tarrio—who was sentenced ‌to 22 years for "seditious conspiracy" in relation to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and pardoned by Trump last year—told his followers not to "bet against this President" adding he did not believe the administration would "surrender this fund so easily."

"Let’s be crystal clear: the DOJ never said it was giving up the fund," he said. "They simply stated they will abide by the judge’s order for now."

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.

Tarrio had previously told the Miami New Times that he would "definitely" be applying for compensation, and told Reuters he believes his claim could be worth between $2 million and $5 million.

A judge ruled that the fund is on pause for the two-week period, according to court documents. Trump is now reconsidering whether to move ahead with a $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate his allies, a person familiar with his thinking told the Associated Press on Monday.

The DOJ told Newsweek on Monday: "The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with the Anti-Weaponization Fund recently established in order to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people.

"This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise. The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling."

What Is the Anti-Weaponization Fund?

In May, the DOJ announced the fund, describing it as a "systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare," amid accusations that former President Joe Biden's DOJ weaponized the law against conservatives during his term, including via prosecutions against Trump and people involved in the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021.

The department said the fund would consist of a five-member commission—four appointed by the attorney general—and would have the authority to issue formal apologies and award monetary relief to claimants.

There were no partisan requirements. It was to receive $1.776 billion in exchange for Trump dropping his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service around the leak of his tax returns, the DOJ had said.

But last week, a federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the fund's creation and set a June 12 hearing to consider whether to extend the order preventing the DOJ from moving forward while legal challenges play out.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, issued the temporary restraining order in Alexandria, Virginia, ruling that the hold is necessary to ensure no public money is "irreversibly disbursed."

Fund Supporters

Writing on X, Tarrio added: "The alternative solution puts far more money directly into the pockets of the American patriots who were illegally targeted and weaponized against. And that option is completely beyond judicial review and congressional oversight."

He did not expand on what he thought potential alternatives to the fund were.

He also told PBS on Monday: "I believe even if this fund is killed in courts or at a congressional level, the president will find a way. There are other options."

Several other Trump supporters had indicated they would apply for compensation through the fund.

Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a leading advocate of Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen, has said he plans to pursue compensation through the fund, arguing that his company lost $400 million because of perceived government weaponization.

Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney who served three years in prison due to his work for the president, said he was also planning to apply for the fund. "I am working through the process on my own and will submit the letter directly to the DOJ once completed," Cohen told CBS News in May.

He added: "If the weaponization fund truly exists to support individuals destroyed by politically motivated law enforcement tactics, selective prosecution, government leaks, abuses of power and intentional destruction of reputation then there is perhaps no clearer example than what happened to me."

Fund Opponents

Democrats had argued the fund represented an abuse of executive power while some prominent Republicans have also questioned the need for the fund.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday called the proposal "deeply offensive" and said it should be scrapped during an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press. He said: “Well, look, I think that the weaponization fund is a bad idea from the start, and I would encourage the administration just to drop it.

Senator Mitch McConnell called the idea of compensating January 6 rioters “utterly stupid” and “morally wrong.”