Cori Bush nears $400,000 in campaign cash to private security while refusing to rein in calls to defund police

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Cori Bush has injected nearly $400,000 of campaign funds into private security services while refusing to tone down calls to defund police, federal filings show.

The Missouri Democrat’s campaign dropped $89,265.67 into private security detail throughout the second quarter, according to Federal Election Commission records. The newest security payments were $50,000 more than her campaign’s second-largest expenditure for fundraising services between April 1 and June 30.

Peace Security, whose Facebook page is littered with anti-gun control posts, was the biggest recipient of Bush’s security cash, hauling nearly $60,000 from her campaign. The remaining money went to Courtney Merrits and Nathaniel Davis, whose reported address in the filings is the same as Bush’s campaign headquarters.

Bush has now directed $393,417.67 into private security for the 2022 election cycle as she refuses to tame down calls to defund law enforcement, which Democrats fear will be used against them.

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“I always tell [fellow Democrats], ‘If you all had fixed this before I got here, I wouldn’t have to say these things,'” the ‘Squad’ member told Axios in February.

Bush said the “defund the police” slogan isn’t the problem and blamed Democrats for not delivering on the promise.

Fox News Digital first reported on Bush’s security payments in July 2021, which prompted CBS News questions about the cash and whether it was hypocritical to hire security while pushing to strip law enforcement of their budgets.

“They would rather I die?” Bush asked. “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.”

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Cori Bush has spent nearly $400,000 on the private security for the midterm election cycle.

Bush said she would ensure she has security because she has had attempts on her life and has “too much work to do.”

“So suck it up, and defunding the police has to happen,” she added.

St. Louis’ KMOV4 later discovered that Bush had hired two sheriff’s deputies, Tylance Jackson and Maurice Thompson, as part of her security.

The discovery led to the termination of Jackson and Thompson, who had failed to get approval for the side gig, St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts said at the time.

And while Bush says the security is due to threats against her, other “Squad” members – like many other politicians – also receive threats but steered very little campaign cash into the services.

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Bush spends far more on personal security than other "Squad" members.

During the second quarter, Ilhan Omar’s campaign spent just over $3,000 on private security, Ayanna Pressley’s campaign just under $7,000 and Rashida Tlaib’s campaign reported $1,500 on such services. New York Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman reported no campaign expenditures on private security detail.