A heated exchange took place on CNN’s “This Morning” when conservative commentator Terry Schilling made a false claim about January 6 defendants. Schilling said the government held thousands of people in prison without charges for years, and used this to justify potential government payouts for January 6 rioters. Host Audie Cornish quickly shut down the claim.
The Department of Justice set up a $1.776 billion fund to repay people who say they were politically targeted by previous administrations. Schilling tried to use this to defend payouts for Trump allies who had already been convicted or had pleaded guilty. “I don’t actually know what the real facts are here, but the government was weaponized against very innocent people,” he said, pointing to the cases of Michael Caputo and Mike Flynn.
