REVEALED: 'Defund the police' Rep. Cori Bush spent almost $70,000 on private security

Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, an ardent "defund the police" advocate, spent almost $70,000 on private security over the past three months, campaign filings reveal.

Bush's campaign sent $54,120 between April 15 and June 28 in 2021 for "security services" to New York-based firm RS&T Security Consulting, according to recent Federal Election Commission records released Thursday.

RS&T's webpage is no longer active, but a cached version of its now-defunct site describes the group as "executive protection agents" that provide "first class executive protection and security for national and international figures."

The young Democrat's campaign also paid $15,000 to Nathaniel Davis for "security services" over the same time period, Fox News reported. Davis's reported address in the filings is the same as Bush's campaign headquarters.

Bush's combined $69,120 in security payments accounted for more than a third of the Squad member's $197,000 in campaign expenditures during the second quarter, the FEC records show, which is also nearly double what the Bush campaign spent on private security during the first quarter of 2021.

At the same time Bush's campaign tossed tens of thousands on private security, the Democrat congresswoman was lambasting law enforcement across America. She is one of the harshest critics of the police force who advocates in favor of defunding local departments. "Defunding the police isn't radical, it's real," Bush has argued.

In April, she praised St. Louis for the city's "historic" vote to defund police. "Today's decision to defund the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is historic," Bush said via press statement that month. "It marks a new future for our city. For decades, our city funneled more and more money into our police department under the guise of public safety, while massively underinvesting in the resources that will truly keep our communities safe."

During a speech on the floor of the House in mid-May, the progressive lawmaker praised Black Lives Matter activist Bassem Masri who prayed for the deaths of numerous police officers. The controversial Palestinian American received national attention for harassing cops by live streaming heated exchanges with officers during protests outside the Ferguson Police Department.

The most recent payments are not the first time Bush's campaign has spent on security in 2021. During the first three months of the year, Bush's committee pumped $35,000 into security services with RS&T, Davis, and Maryland-based firm Whole Armor Executive Protection, according to Fox News.

Bush has also funneled taxpayer cash toward security detail. The Daily Caller reported in June that Bush's congressional office had spent $880 on one day of protection with RS&T as the firm was collecting checks from the campaign.

According to the Statement of Disbursements of the House records, Bush spent taxpayer funds on a day of private security for herself on February 19, 2021.

Other members of the Squad such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley also spent campaign cash on personal details while advocating for defunding the police. The three, however, have exhausted much less money than Bush. During the second quarter, Ocasio-Cortez spent just over $4,000, Omar paid $2,800, and Pressley splurged for $3,500 in protection.