Holly MatkinWashington, DC – U.S. Representative Cori Bush (D-Missouri) has shelled out over $300,000 for personal security this election cycle while simultaneously demanding that police be defunded.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, the staunch Defund the Police advocate doled out a whopping $70,489 for her security detail between Jan. 1 and March 31, FOX News reported.
Records showed Bush paid $5,000 to Nathaniel Davis, $15,000 to Cortney Merrits, and $50,489 to Peace Security, according to the news outlet.
Her committee also paid out a total of $233,663 on security services last year, FOX News reported.
Those figures equate to a total price tag of $304,152 for Bush’s personal protection services so far this election cycle.
Bush was widely criticized for being a hypocrite when the information about her security budget first went public last year.
But the controversial congresswoman told CBS News in an interview in August of 2021 that her decision to spend tens of thousands of dollars on private security for herself is why she is “here standing now.”
“They would rather I die?” Bush asked at the time. “You would rather me die? Is that what you want to see? You want to see me die? You know, because that could be the alternative.”
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.
Bush said she is far too important to take any risks when it comes to her personal safety.
“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!”
