OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams has spent almost half a million dollars on private security despite her ties to several far-left groups that support “defunding the police.”
Since December 2021, Abrams campaign has spent over $450,000 for private security since launching her second bid for governor despite being a board member of a foundation that wants to abolish the police and personally backing an anti-police initiative.
“Between December 2021 and April 2022, Abrams’ campaign doled out over $450,000 to Executive Protection Agencies (EPA Security), an Atlanta-based private security firm. The company’s website says the group provides executive protection that comes with a keen eye with a thorough knowledge of the venue through threat assessment for its clients,” Fox News reported.
The report added:
The nine payments from the Abrams campaign to EPA Security ranged from $39,335 to $56,760.
This is not the first time Abrams has paid for private security. The Fair Fight PAC, a committee that is part of a network launched by Abrams, spent more than $1.2 million on security services last year with the same firm as the Abrams campaign, according to filings.
Abrams recently insisted to Axios that she supports increased police funding and officer pay as her role with the Seattle-based Marguerite Casey Foundation has become a political liability.
Abrams claims she has no control over the group’s grants as a board member, which one could argue.
However, does have control over remaining a board member, which is an endorsement within itself of the organization publicly backing anti-police initiatives.
Last week, more than 100 Georgia sheriffs have condemned Abrams for her support of the Defund The Police narrative.
A letter was shared on the campaign website for Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, her opponent.
“Over the last four years, Governor Kemp and his family stood shoulder to shoulder with the men and women serving in Georgia’s law enforcement community. Working alongside our departments, Governor Kemp has championed legislation to recruit and retain more officers into the profession, strengthen penalties for criminals and help keep Georgia’s streets safe, and prevent rogue local governments from stripping critical funding and resources from police,” it said.
“In stark contrast, Stacey Abrams has repeatedly shown complete disdain for law enforcement and the risk we take every day putting our lives on the line to serve our communities. Ms. Abrams actively serves on the governing board of – and has profited from – an anti-police organization that openly advocates for abolishing prisons and stripping local police departments of their funding. Stacey Abrams also supports proposals that put criminals back on our streets and clear their criminal record, and she opposed legislation to crack down on human trafficking when she served in the state legislature,” the letter said.
“These policies and Ms. Abrams’ role in advocating for them put Georgia’s law enforcement officers and the communities we serve at risk. In these uncertain times, it is critical to our profession that Georgia’s leaders stand firmly behind the men and women in law enforcement who keep Georgia families safe. We are grateful to have the support of Governor Kemp and his administration, and we call on Stacey Abrams to disavow the dangerous policies she supports,” it said.
Abrams, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor of the Peach State, lost a close race to Republican Brian Kemp in 2018.
Kemp won the Georgia GOP primary over former Republican Sen. David Perdue, setting up a rematch with Abrams in November’s general election.
Abrams came under fire last week after she called Georgia the “worst state in the country to live in.”
During a speech, Abrams said, “I’m running for governor because I know that we have to have a conversation about who we are in this state and what we want for each other and from each other.”
“I am tired of hearing about how we’re the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live,” she said.
