AOC, Swalwell, Liz Cheney and Others Spending Tens of Thousands of Campaign Dollars on Security Since Capitol Insurrection

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Anti-Trump lawmakers like Congresswomen Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Liz Cheney and Congressman Eric Swalwell have spent tens of thousands of campaign dollars each for security since the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

On the 100-day mark post-insurrection, Punchbowl News reports that lawmakers have privately said “that they got a flood of death threats after opposing Trump, and feared for their own safety and the welfare of their families and staff.”

And Punchbowl dug into campaign finance reports, finding security expenditures from a raft of Democrats and Republicans who opposed Trump. Among them were:

→ Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) cut checks for nearly $70,000 on security. His campaign spent $39,000 with T&M USA LLC, which provides a variety of security services; $18,376 with Altronics, which provides closed-circuit security monitoring; $7,300 with Fortified Estate, which brands itself as “The Leader In Refined Ballistic Doors, Windows, Walls & Panic Rooms”; $3,900 at Tint Pro, which provides shaded windows; and $650 with Lehigh Valley Paladin LLC, security and intelligence professionals.

→ Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) spent $43,633 with Ambolt Security Group in Utah. This company is run by a former police officer and two former FBI agents.

→ Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) spent $50,400 with three former Secret Service agents and Command Executive Services.

→ Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) spent $44,400 with Global Guardian in Virginia. Swalwell was also temporarily assigned a Capitol Police security detail after he was an impeachment manager.

→ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) spent more than $45,000 on security — including during a trip to Houston. AOC is one of the most-high profile members of Congress, and she’s come under intense criticism from right-wing media.

You can read the full report here.

Punchbowl also points out that security spending like this isn’t new, but is typically modest, and that “the scale of this dramatically escalated under Trump. Several lawmakers who became vocal Trump critics, in turn, were the target of violent threats via phone, email, or social media. Before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by Trump supporters — which was followed quickly by Trump’s second impeachment — the threat levels against lawmakers have soared.”