“Defund the Police” AOC, “Squad” Spent $1.2M on Security

Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her eight-strong “squad” of anti-cop lawmakers have spent more than $1.2 million in campaign funds on private security since taking office. show records.

Leading the way are Cori Bush (D-Missouri), who says she has spent more than $730,000 on private security services — including $75,000 she passed on to her own husband — and Ocasio-Cortez (D- NY) whose spending on security upgrades totals over $272,000 at their county offices.

Bush’s campaign spending on security precedes her entry into the House in 2021.

Since running for Congress in 2019, she has paid $736,748 for security services.

Among the benefactors of her donor’s generosity was St. Louis-based Peace Security, a gun-friendly, right-wing private security firm, which nonetheless raised $380,947 He is reportedly promoting the Second Amendment – in stark contrast to Democratic Socialist Bush’s anti-gun campaign messages.

Her campaign also paid military veteran Cortney Merrits, who married Bush in February, $75,000 to do private security work for the congresswoman.

Bush was the subject of a complaint to the Federal Election Commission in March after it was revealed that her campaign had paid her now-husband to provide security – even though he did not have the required license.

Less than two weeks before her unoccupied vehicle was shot at in St. Louis in January 2022, Bush began making payments to her longtime lover Washington Free Beacon reported.

The extreme left did not reply to messages but declared in 2021 CBS Interview that while she is campaigning to strip the police of funds, she needs private security because she has faced death threats.

Ocasio-Cortez ranks second among Cadreans in campaign security spending, having spent $272,914.67 since taking office in 2019.

Her expenses include nearly $2,000 to install security systems at her county offices in Queens and Bronx, more than $20,000 for “internet” or “digital” security, $4,263 for office security equipment, and $521 for what she notes as “safety barriers” in the FEC records.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) placed third, spending $125,683.75 on security services since taking office in 2019.

Completing the rest of the squad: Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) spent $64,763; Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) $20,480; Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) $7,872; and Greg Casar (D-Texas) $1,570; while Summer Lee (D-Pa.) has yet to document security issues. Both Lee and Casar are freshman members who joined Congress in January.

Like all members of Congress, the “troop” separately receives a taxpayer-funded security unit provided by the US Capitol Police.

Of the total spending of $1.23 million, $1.15 million was spent following the May 25, 2020 police killing of George Floyd, prompting nationwide civil unrest and calls for police funding cuts led.

Critics called the security spending “hypocritical” considering the force’s members lead the “defund the police” movement.

Zach Smith, a lawyer with the conservative group Heritage Foundation, called the security spending “incredibly hypocritical” considering the force’s members “were at the forefront of the defund the police movement,” which he says led to a Increase in crime in their own counties has resulted nationwide.

“Cori Bush, AOC, all members of the force — they and their families deserve to be safe in their homes and communities — but so does everyone else,” said Smith, co-author of Rogue Prosecutors. It lays out how billionaire George Soros’ “progressive prosecution” movement empowers criminals.

“Unfortunately, while they get their own taxpayer-funded security unit … on top of what they pay for out of pocket” in campaign funds for security, “yet their constituents do not have to rely on the police or their Second Amendment rights,” to carry these firearms “which the troops also reject”.

Paul Kamenar, adviser to the National Legal and Policy Center, said he also thinks it’s “hypocritical” that Ocasio-Cortez and her squad of socialist cops who hate cops use the mantras “Defund the Police” and “Black Lives Matters enforce habits.

“They spend all this money on their safety, but they don’t worry about the safety of their constituents,” he said.

Kamenar also said Bush’s payments to her longtime lover and husband “raise questions” about whether he is legitimately providing security assistance.

Ocasio-Cortez and Omar did not respond to messages.

AOC “SQUAD” SECURITY ISSUE

1-Cori Bush D-Missouri (2021-present): $736,748

2-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-NY (2019-present): $272,914

3- Ilhan Omar D-Minnesota (2019-present): $125,683

4- Ayanna Pressley D Mass. (2019-present): $64,763

5 – Rashida Tlaib D-Mich. (2019-present): $20,480

6- Jamaal Bowman D-NY (2021-present): $7,872

7- Greg Casar D-Texas (Jan. 2023-present): $1,570

8: Summer Lee D-Pa. (Jan. 2023-present): None

TOTAL: $1.23 million

Source: Federal Electoral Commission