AOC's 'Squad' Wants to Defund the Police But Pays Thousands for Personal Security

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush — collectively known as “the Squad” — are among the primary supporters of the “defund the police” movement.

AOC has been especially visible and vocal in her opposition to funding police departments.

“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.”

And yet, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez spent more than $9,000 on “security” from one company according to an investigation by the Daily Caller.

• 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.”

Other members of “the Squad” also spent heavily on private security after calling on activists to help defund the police. Pressley spent more than $4,000 on private security services, and Omar spent more than $3,000. Bush spent more than $30,000 on security despite being a freshman lawmaker and not as well known as AOC and the rest of the Squad.

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. https://t.co/Wsxp1Y1bBi

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) December 2, 2020

So what’s the big controversy? The funds being spent are either campaign funds or personal assets. Besides, the Squad’s visibility makes them a target of the kooks and crazies and they are more than justified in hiring people to protect them.

But most Americans do not have the luxury of being able to afford to hire private security. Most Americans must rely on the police for the minimal amount of protection that we get.

Defunding the police is more than a slogan. It’s a social experiment — untried on a large scale. That experiment is playing with real people’s lives and the safety of their families. Color is unimportant — black, white, brown, yellow — we’re all at the mercy of those who don’t care about life or property.

If you are going to advocate for this kind of social experiment, you should be forced to participate. Those radical members of Congress should be exposed to the same dangers as everyone else — in fact, they should welcome it as proof of concept for their experiment. Spending money on private security while asking others to stand in the firing line is cowardice on a grand scale, not seen anywhere else.

Except in Congress.