Politics

‘The Squad’ Pushes To ‘Defund The Police’ While Spending Thousands On Private Security To Protect Themselves

Photo Collage, Photo 1- by Paul Morigi:Getty Images, Photo 2-by Paul Morigi:Getty Images, Photo 3-by Drew Angerer:Getty Images, Photo 4-Photographer: Sarah Silbiger:Bloomberg via Getty Images

Henry Rodgers Chief National Correspondent
Font Size:

Members of the progressive-Democrat group in Congress called “the Squad” who have been pushing to defund the police, spent thousands of dollars on private security for themselves, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by the Daily Caller.

FEC reports show Democrats New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush each spent thousands of dollars on their own security. The payments were described in the FEC filings as either “security” or “security services.”

In Jan. 2020, Ocasio-Cortez criticized New York City’s proposed $1 billion cuts from the police department budget, saying it did not go far enough. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Defends Defund Police Movement Despite Pushback From Democrats)

“Defunding police means defunding police,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “It does not mean budget tricks or funny math. It does not mean moving school police officers from the NYPD budget to the Department of Education’s budget so the exact same police remain in schools.”

During a June 2020 Instagram live, Ocasio-Cortez said America would look like a suburb if the police lost funding across the country.

“Affluent white communities already live in a world where they choose to fund youth, health, housing etc more than they fund police,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

  • In January, February, and March of 2021, Ocasio-Cortez spent $3,000 per month on a security consultant based out of Brooklyn, New York. Records show she spent a total of $9,000 for 3 months of security consulting from this one company.
  • On Jan. 25, 2021, Ocasio-Cortez spent $24,279.13 on “security.”
  • On Jan. 19, 2021, she spent $3,986.60 on “security services.”
  • On Feb. 2., Ocasio-Cortez spent $849.22 on “security services.”
  • On Feb. 25, Ocasio-Cortez spent $1552.50 at 24 & 7 Security & Investigation, Inc., which her office said was for a “security detail in Houston.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks outside of the Democratic National Committee headquarters on November 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Omar, who also supports defunding the police, spent $3,103.61 on her own security in her state of Minnesota, according to her April Quarterly 2021 financial report:

  • On Jan. 20, 2021, Omar spent $66.97 on “Security Services.”
  • On Jan. 29, 2021, Ilhan Omar spent $202.70 on Security “Services.”
  • On Feb. 19, 2021, Ilhan Omar spent $66.97 on “Security Services.”
  • On Feb. 26, 2021, Omar spent $2,700 on “Security Services.”
  • On March 16, 2021, Ilhan Omar spent $66.97 on “Security Services.”

In a June 2020 appearance on CNN, when Omar was asked about defunding the police she said the system could not be reformed.

“You can’t really reform a department that is rotten to the root. What you can do is rebuild,” Omar said. “No one is saying crimes will not be investigated.” (RELATED: Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Others Blast Obama For Coming Out Against ‘Defund The Police’ Slogan)

“What we are saying is the current infrastructure that exists as policing in our city should not exist anymore, and we can’t go about creating a different process with the same infrastructure in place,” she said.

Congressional candidate Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a get out the vote event on the University of Minnesota campus on November 3, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Pressley, another avid supporter of defunding the police, spent $4,186.75 on “Security Services,” according to her April Quarterly 2021 financial report:

  • On Jan. 26, 2021, Pressley spent $1,292.00 while in her home state.
  • On Jan. 27, 2021, Pressley spent $1,267.50 for security in Alexandria, Virginia.
  • On March 4, 2021, Pressley spent $675.25 in ADT security, which is based in Boca Raton, Florida.
  • On March 9, 2021, Pressley spent $252.00 while in her home state.
  • On March 19, 2021, Pressley spent $700.00 for a security company in Washington D.C. called LGC Security LLC.

In a June 2020 interview with TIME, Pressley said she supports efforts to defund police departments, saying it is “about the investment in our communities which have historically been divested from.” (RELATED: Rep. Doug Collins Says Rep. Ayanna Pressley Is ‘Carrying The Water For Anarchists’ By Encouraging ‘Unrest In The Streets’)

Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) speaks before the swearing in of Kim Janey as the Mayor of Boston at City Hall on March 24, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Cori Bush, a freshman Democrat who has pushed to defund the police, spent over $30,000 on her own security, according to her April Quarterly 2021 financial report.

  • On Jan. 18, 2021, Bush spent $1,060.00 on security from Whole Armor Executive Protection in Bowie, Maryland.
  • On Jan. 21, 2021, Bush spent $5,000 on security from Nathaniel Davis, Jr in her home state.
  • On Jan. 25, 2021, Bush spent $530.00 on security from Nathaniel Davis in Palo Alto, Calif.
  • On Feb. 17, 2021, Bush spent $7,743.75 on security from RS&T Security Counseling LLC in New York City.
  • On Feb. 25, 2021, Bush spent $5,000 on security from Sandler, Reiff, Lamb, Rosenstein & Birk in Washington DC.
  • On Feb. 26, 2021, Bush spent $5,812.00 on security from RS&T Security Counseling, LLC in NYC.
  • On March 15, 2021, Bush spent $5,000 on security from Nathaniel Davis Davis, in Saint Louis, Missouri.
  • On March 15, 2021, Bush spent $2,456.25 on security from RS&T Security Consulting LLC in NYC.

Bush sent out a tweet in Dec. 2020, that criticized former President Barrack Obama for not calling to defund the police. (RELATED: Democratic House Candidate Says She Wants To ‘Defund The Pentagon’ To Fund ‘Social Services’)

“With all due respect, Mr. President—let’s talk about losing people. We lost Michael Brown Jr. We lost Breonna Taylor. We’re losing our loved ones to police violence. It’s not a slogan. It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police,” Bush said in a tweet.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) attends The National Council for Incarcerated Women and Girls “100 Women for 100 Women” rally in Black Lives Matter Plaza near The White House on March 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

The Daily Caller contacted the offices of Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, and Bush about the amount of money spent on security, to which they did not immediately respond. Daily Caller reached out to many of the security companies and learned that they indeed provide armed security, but couldn’t comment on the nature of security provided to the congresswomen.