Anti-Trump lawmakers' private security expenses ballooned after Jan. 6 riot
16 April 2021
Members of Congress are spending tens of thousands of dollars on personal security for them and their families in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot, according to an analysis of first-quarter Federal Election Commission reports by Punchbowl News.
Between the lines: Private security expenditures were especially common among anti-Trump Republicans and high-profile Democrats who earlier this year voted to impeach and convict the former president for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, signaling they fear for the safety of themselves and their families.
By the numbers:
- Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.): Nearly $70,000
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah): $43,633
- Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.): $50,400
- Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.): $19,874
- Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.): $44,400
- Rep. Anthony Gonzalez(R-Ohio): $1,540
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.): More than $45,000
The big picture: Lawmakers in the past have spent money for additional security, but security expenditures dramatically increased throughout the Trump administration, according to Punchbowl.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced in February new security measures for congressional members traveling to and from Washington, including stationing additional police at airports in the D.C. area.
- Pelosi is also preparing a $2 billion supplemental spending bill that would grow the ranks of the Capitol Police force and provide some lawmakers additional security in their districts, according to Punchbowl.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.