Administration

John Adams quote projected on DOJ building to protest ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/20/26 6:30 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/20/26 6:30 PM ET

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A quote from the second U.S. president, John Adams, was projected onto the Department of Justice (DOJ) building on Tuesday night following the Trump administration’s announcement of an “anti-weaponization” fund.

“A government of laws, not of men,” the quote from Adams read, projected onto a banner of President Trump, which hangs from the building.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection — the network of DOJ alumni who projected the quote — said the group was sending a message to stand for the department’s “integrity” and the “rule of law,” according to NBC.

She condemned the creation of a $1.776 billion compensation fund for individuals who allege they were wronged by the government.

“That is an extraordinary abuse of power, and it’s a sign that the rule of law is crumbling before our eyes,” Young said of what she called the “slush fund.”

But it isn’t just Justice Connection raising concerns about the fund. Some lawmakers have also voiced their apprehensions.

“Trump is trying to commandeer nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to bankroll a slush fund for Jan. 6 cop-beaters and aggrieved MAGA foot soldiers,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) said in a statement.

“This massive abuse of public money also has glaring constitutional defects: Only Congress has the power to appropriate federal dollars, and we didn’t appropriate a cent for the J6 millionaire trust fund,” he added, after introducing a bill to block payments from the fund.

However, Trump and Vice President Vance defended the creation of the fund for claims against the government.

“We’re trying to compensate people where the book was thrown at them, they were mistreated by the legal system,” Vance told reporters at a Tuesday White House press briefing.

The creation of the fund comes after the DOJ and Trump came to an agreement to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

In exchange, the agency will be “forever barred” from auditing Trump’s old tax returns.

Trump and his oldest sons, who were also plaintiffs in the IRS suit, will not receive a payout from the fund but will be given a formal apology.

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