Holly MatkinWashington, DC – Four of the U.S. House “Squad” members who are the most vocal about abolishing law enforcement continue to be the same people who spend the most on their own private security.
The fifth “Squad” member, U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-New York) doesn’t even bother hiring his own security team – he just uses the Yonkers Police Department to provide extra protection at his family’s home, the New York Post reported.
Bowman, who was elected in 2020, has referred to police as agents of “white supremacy” and has thrown his support behind the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a police reform bill the U.S. Senate has thus far refused to pass.
“Not long ago, the Congressman called for dramatically less policing in the most violent, crime-ridden neighborhoods,” Yonkers Police Benevolent Association President Keith Olson told the New York Post. “Asking these same police officers to protect your family while creating policies that make communities of color less safe is simply disgraceful.”
Meanwhile, Squad mates Representative Cori Bush (D-Missouri), Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) have continued their push to defund or abolish police while simultaneously doling out thousands of dollars to make sure they have private protection.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, Bush, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Pressley spent a combined total of $79,559.81 on security services from January through March alone, the Daily Caller reported.
They all voted in favor of the George Floyd Act, and Pressley even sponsored the BREATHE Act, which calls for the complete elimination of federal law enforcement agencies, the New York Post reported.
The bill would ultimately impact state and local law enforcement agencies and has been widely praised by Black Lives Matter leaders.
Pressley also is a sponsor of the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which is widely supported by the rest of the “Squad,” the New York Post reported.
Bush and Pressley are both among the sponsors of the People’s Response Act, which aims to replace prison sentences with health-based programs while also dumping $7.5 billion into community organizations as an alternative to law enforcement, according to the news outlet.
Bush, who likes to don her “Y’All Gone Stop Killing Us!” or Black Lives Matter t-shirts as much as possible when out in public, has been a strong proponent of police defunding while simultaneously telling her critics she deserves expensive private security because she has important work to do.
“So, suck it up!” she declared during a CBS interview in August.
Bush doled out more on her own personal security than any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives between April 15 and June 28, the New York Post reported.
The nearly $70,000 she spent on private security during that period exceeds the median household income for residents in the district she represents by nearly $20,000.
During her interview with CBS, Bush was asked about the criticism she has faced by racking up a hefty private security bill while also demanding police be defunded.
“Some critics say that move is hypocritical,” the CBS anchor noted. “What’s your response to those critics?”
“They would rather I die?” she asked, breaking into a huge smile. “You would rather me die? Is that what you wanna see? You wanna see me die? You know, because that could be the alternative.”
Bush said that her decision to spend $70,000 on private security for herself is why she is “here standing now.”
She said the people who are criticizing her are actually the ones to blame for her “need” for security.
“We’re talking about the same exact people who say horrible things about me – who lie to build up their base – and then because they lie about me, I receive death threats,” Bush declared.
“I have private security because my body is worth being on this planet right now! I have private security because they, the white supremacist racist narrative that they drive into this country, the fact that they don’t care that this black woman that has put her life on the line, they can’t match my energy, first of all,” she rambled, waving her arms wildly.
Bush said she is going to make sure she is protected no matter what.
“I’m gonna make sure I have security because I know I have had attempts on my life,” she claimed. “I have too much work to do. There are too many people that need help right now for me to allow that. So if I end up spending $200,000, if I end up spending 10, 10, 10 more dollars on it – you know what? I get to be here to do the work. So, suck it up!”
As far as defunding the police goes, Bush said her position hasn’t changed.
“Defunding the police has to happen,” she preached. “We need to defund the police and put that money into social safety nets because we’re trying to save lives!”
The Congresswoman argued that defunding the police and having private security is necessary in her case “because those same folks are causing it.”
“If I have actual police officers who have threatened my life…tell me that I don’t need security,” she raged. “My security is not against communal violence. My security is not to keep me safe from the people of St. Louis. My security is to keep me safe from those racist attempts made against my life!”
Bush said she is going to deep walking with her “head up” and her “shoulders back” because she knows she is “on the right side of history.”
“If they want, they can come and meet me to my face!” she declared. “You show up and fight for the people the way that I have! You put your body on the line the way that I’ve put my body on the line! Until you can do that, I suggest you take several seats.”
When one of the CBS news anchors asked Bush if she’d been threatened by law enforcement officers, the Congresswoman began giggling.
“Absolutely,” she replied. “The thing is, they can threaten my life and I’m still working for them. I’m still gonna make sure their families are taken care of, because…if you have a need, I’m gonna take care of you, because that’s my job.”
The CBS anchor pushed Bush a bit further about her bombshell allegation, noting that he hoped she had done something to make sure the law enforcement officers who she claimed threatened her life have been removed from the streets.
Bush smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
“Ya know, its – work is being done,” she stammered. “You know, there’s nothing that comes in that, that um, is not being handled, so we’re, we’re fine. We’re fine. We’ll keep moving.”
Bush also used campaign funds to pay for another $32,602 in private security services the first three months of this year alone, the Daily Caller previously reported.
Ocasio-Cortez has spent nearly $50,000 on her private security since Jan. 1, according to the New York Post.
Pressley doled out over $7,500 for personal security so far this year, while Omar has spent about $6,000.
