Collins attempts to clarify remarks after exchange with Jan. 6 rioter over compensation fund

An exchange between Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins and a Savannah man convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot is becoming one of the latest points of contention in Georgia's closely watched Senate race.

During a campaign event in Savannah this week, Dominic Box identified himself as a Jan. 6 defendant and asked Collins whether he would support either the Trump administration's proposed "anti-weaponization fund" or another form of compensation for Americans who believe they were "improperly targeted" by the federal government.

Box described himself during the exchange as a "non-violent Jan. 6-er" and said he lost his home, car and life savings following his prosecution. He broadened his question beyond Jan. 6 defendants, asking whether Collins would support relief for Americans across the political spectrum who could demonstrate they were harmed by a "weaponized political system."

Collins responded that government agencies should be accountable when they wrong Americans.

"When the federal government harms you, then yes, they have a liability too. That's easy. Yes," Collins said.

The exchange quickly drew attention in the race between Collins and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, but Collins' campaign says the congressman's response should not be interpreted as support for automatic payments to people prosecuted in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.

"Mike Collins fully supports holding the government accountable when federal agencies abuse their power," campaign spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said in a statement, adding that Collins believes people wronged by the government should have a way to seek justice.

"He does not support a blank-check fund or automatic taxpayer-funded payouts to anyone simply because they were prosecuted for January 6," Siegfried said.

Ossoff, meanwhile, has sought to connect Collins' answer directly to the controversial federal fund.

"Donald Trump and Mike Collins want to pay your tax dollars to violent thugs who ransacked the Capitol," Ossoff said in a statement released by his campaign Wednesday. 

Ossoff has separately called on Collins to publicly retract what the senator characterized as support for taxpayer-funded payments to people who participated in the Capitol attack. Collins' campaign disputes that characterization.

Who is Dominic Box?

Box, a Savannah resident, was prosecuted for his actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as supporters of then-President Donald Trump breached the building while Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

A federal judge found Box guilty in 2024 of two felony counts of civil disorder and four misdemeanor offenses after he waived his right to a jury trial. Court records showed Box entered the Capitol multiple times and was among a group that pushed through officers near the Capitol Crypt.

An obstruction charge against Box was dismissed following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision narrowing how the federal obstruction statute could be applied to Jan. 6 cases. His remaining convictions stood, and Box was awaiting sentencing when Trump returned to office. 

On Jan. 20, 2025, Trump issued sweeping clemency covering defendants charged or convicted in connection with Jan. 6. The order granted full pardons to most people convicted of offenses related to the Capitol attack and directed the Justice Department to seek dismissal of pending cases.

Federal court records show Box's case was subsequently dismissed and he was ordered released from custody before he could be sentenced. 

What was the "anti-weaponization fund"?

The Justice Department announced the anti-weaponization fund in May as part of a settlement resolving a lawsuit brought by Trump, members of his family and the Trump Organization against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department over the disclosure of Trump's tax information.

Under the agreement, the proposed fund would have received $1.776 billion from the federal government's judgment fund and created a process for people who claimed they had been subjected to unlawful government "weaponization" or "lawfare" to seek monetary relief or other remedies. The Justice Department said there would be no partisan requirement to submit a claim.

The settlement did not expressly limit eligibility to Jan. 6 defendants. Applicants would have needed to assert a legal claim that they had been improperly targeted by government power, and the proposed claims process could consider factors including actual damages, legal expenses and time spent in federal custody.

But the plan generated bipartisan opposition in the Senate, including concerns that people prosecuted for violent conduct during the Capitol attack could seek payments from the fund. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas withheld support for Todd Blanche's nomination to permanently lead the Justice Department while pressing for assurances that the plan would not move forward.

Then-Acting Attorney General Blanche formally rescinded the fund on Aug. 2, writing that no members had been appointed, no money had been transferred, no claims process had been established and no claims had been paid.

"This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund," the order said.

Cornyn and Tillis subsequently supported advancing Blanche's nomination, and the Senate confirmed him as attorney general on Aug. 8 in a 50-49 vote.

The political debate over compensating people who allege they were wrongly targeted by the federal government, however, has continued, and Collins' exchange with Box has now brought that debate directly into Georgia's U.S. Senate campaign.