(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing allegations that it cut the benefits from Jan. 6 defendants who haven’t been convicted of felonies, which critics say is against VA policy.
The allegations were first reported last November by independent journalist Breanna Morello, who filed a lawsuit over the matter last week. Morello’s lawsuit claimed that the VA is stonewalling her Freedom of Information Act request for records about Jan. 6 defendants and VA benefit recipients JD Rivera, Hector Vargas Santos and Kenneth Harrelson.
I’m suing the Department of Veteran Affairs after they failed to comply with my FOIA request.
My FOIA request was in regards to several J6 defendants who saw a reduction in their benefits.
WATCH this video to learn more!
If you’d like to donate to my work, you can do so here:… pic.twitter.com/ty7hEI800L
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) February 9, 2024
According to UncoverDC, which summarized Morello’s reporting, Rivera was told last July that the VA reduced his “from a 90% rate to a 10% rate effective the 61st day of confinement” following his conviction for disorderly conduct and trespassing on Capitol grounds.
“Rivera had no felony conviction, only misdemeanor charges,” UncoverDC reported Tuesday.
Santos is reportedly in a similar situation to Rivera, having been convicted of four misdemeanors for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. According to UncoverDC, the VA erroneously alleged he had felony charges and notified him of their plans to reduce his VA benefits in July.
The VA reportedly has restored full benefits for Rivera and Santos—perhaps because of Morello’s reporting, UncoverDC speculated—but Santos wants to know why they were cut in the first place.
“It is the VA’s job to protect veteran’s rights,” Santos reportedly said. “They were too quick to take my benefits away. I had no one outside jail helping me either. I wish I could find out who gave the VA the wrong information.”
As for Harrelson, his benefits were allegedly removed unlawfully pre-trial. Harrison was one of the Oath Keepers sentenced to prison.
Harrison’s wife Angel was reportedly denied benefits because she was allegedly not named as a beneficiary in his VA file. She was also reportedly told that if were her husband to die, he would not be buried in a military cemetery.
According to Morello, Angel was recently sent a bill for over $4000. But that bill disappeared after the reporter started asking questions about it, she said.
“Magically, it disappeared two weeks later after … the VA reached out and asked Angel to sign some papers,” she reportedly said of the situation.
The VA has yet to respond to Morello’s lawsuit.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
