Squad members and Anti-Trump Republicans spend $70k on private security following riots

Lawmakers spending on protection in wake of 6 January Capitol riot revealed in FEC filings

Democratic Squad members and anti-Trump Republicans have spent up to $70,000 each on private security following a dramatic increase in death threats.

Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach Donald Trump and high-profile Democrats have been forced to hire extra security guards following the Capitol Riot, Federal Election Commission filings reveal.

GOP congresswoman Liz Cheney, and Senators Mitt Romney and Pat Toomey are among the Republicans to shell out thousands of dollars since 6 January, reports Punchbowl News.

Congressional Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Eric Swalwell, who have all been targeted by the one-term president, have also increased their private protection.

Mr Trump was impeached for a historic second time after he refused to accept his election defeat and his supporters stormed the Capitol after a rally to try and prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

Five people, including a US Capitol police officer, were killed in the scenes that unfolded as Mr Trump’s supporters rampaged through the building.

Mr Trump was eventually acquitted at the end of his Senate trial, but 57 senators voted that he was guilty of the charge,

The top Republican spender was Senator Toomey of Pennsylvania, who spent $70,000 on security services, including with the company Fortified Estate, which says it is “The leader in refined ballistic doors, walls and panic rooms.”

Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who gets Capitol security as the secretary of the Republican Conference, paid $50,000 on security. 

She voted to impeach Mr Trump and he has vowed to endorse a MAGA primary opponent to try and unseat her.

Mitt Romney, who voted twice to impeach the ex-president, spent $46,000 on a security company that is run by two former FBI agents and a former police officer.

Representative John Katko, one of ten House Republicans to vote to impeach Mr Trump, spent $20,000 with a company called 3 Rings Protection.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, a New York congresswoman, has been a regular target of Mr Trump, and spent $45,000 on security during a single trip to Houston alone.

California congressman Eric Swalwell, who was an impeachment manager during Mr Trump’s first impeachment, disclosed he spent $44,000 on security with Global Guardian and had a Capitol Police detail.