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George Soros Is a Major Donor Behind 'Defund the Police' Movement

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Federal Election Commission records reveal that Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros is a major financial backer of the “defund the police” cause, pouring $1 million into an organization associated with the movement.

Campaign finance data publicly available on the FEC’s website shows that Soros contributed that amount to the Color of Change Political Action Committee on May 14.

Color of Change describes itself as “the nation’s largest online racial justice organization” on its website.

“We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America,” the group says.

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Color of Change has endorsed the defund the police campaign with an online petition bearing the title: “TAKE ACTION: Defund the police, and invest in communities now!”

Defund the police is a movement that calls for slashing the budgets of traditional police departments and instead investing the money in social programs and alternative means of law enforcement.

Though the movement enjoyed some appeal during the months after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody, people gradually began to become disillusioned with it after it backfired as crime rates rose and police departments were not able to handle situations due to reduced funding.

Do you think police departments should be defunded?

The petition by Color of Change says that to establish a “society that functions for ALL of us … we must begin by divesting from and dismantling the systems that unjustly harm Black people.”

When the Minneapolis City Council decided to institute major funding cuts to the city’s Police Department, Color of Change President Rashad Robinson lauded the move.

“Policing is a violent institution that must end. We imagine a country where there is enough money to educate our children, care for our sick and feed those who are financially unstable. Defunding the police allows for this vision,” Robinson said in an undated news release on the funding cuts.

Color of Change Campaign Director Malachi Robinson told the Brooklyn, New York, newspaper BKReader in June, “What we were demanding was for transformation, for real change and for the end of police terrorizing Black and Brown communities.”

“This movement is demanding a reimaging of public safety, we are saying no more police and no more mass incarceration. We’re saying we need to invest in our communities and the things that keep our communities really safe,” he said.

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Soros’ left-wing philanthropic organization, the Open Society Foundations, awarded more than a million dollars in grants to Color of Change in 2018 and 2019, according to disclosures on its website.

According to FEC data, Soros is thus far the biggest financial contributor to Color of Change this year, followed by Propel Capital Network, which has donated $50,000.

The group raised a total of $2,062,858.73 from “contributions and other receipts” and spent $2,450,118.66 in “purchases and payments,” according to the FEC.

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News reporter and international affairs analyst published and syndicated in over 100 national and international outlets, including The National Interest, The Daily Caller, and The Western Journal. Covers international affairs, security, and U.S. politics. Master of Arts in Security Policy Studies candidate at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs
News reporter and international affairs analyst published and syndicated in over 100 national and international outlets, including The National Interest, The Daily Caller, and The Western Journal. Covers international affairs, security, and U.S. politics. Master of Arts in Security Policy Studies candidate at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. Follow Andrew on Twitter: @RealAndrewJose
Education
Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service
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Washington, District of Columbia
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Topics of Expertise
International Politics, National Security, U.S. Politics




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