Left-wing advocacy groups that have supported the controversial “defund” police movement have received tens of millions of dollars from a Texas billionaire who has backed efforts across the United States to overhaul the criminal justice system, records show.
John Arnold, a former Enron executive, has emerged as a major donor to organizations that have supported policies such as cashless bail that Republicans argue lead to crime spikes. Through his limited liability corporation, Arnold Ventures, the billionaire has steered $17.2 million to four organizations behind efforts and calls to strip law enforcement of crucial resources, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
“Arnold Ventures opposes calls to defund the police,” a spokesperson for the LLC told the Washington Examiner. “We are guided by the objective of improving public safety. Research shows that law enforcement can be effective at reducing violent crime and plays an integral role in ensuring community safety.”
Arnold’s donations through the years from his LLC have remained relatively obscure, despite other major philanthropists like George Soros gaining prominent attention in media outlets. Arnold Ventures does not legally have to disclose entities that it awards grants to, but the LLC says on its website that it has delivered hundreds of millions in criminal justice grants since 2015.
The Washington Examiner revealed in January that AV has bankrolled left-leaning criminal justice policy blueprints in Indiana and “racial justice” research, which experts say could harm public safety if implemented.
“We support fair and effective policing, which is policing that is accountable to communities and helps advance community safety,” the AV spokesperson added. “We have partnered with law enforcement departments across the country in support of research on effective policing practices.”
Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, progressive groups launched comprehensive defund the police initiatives. Cities such as Minneapolis, Minnesota, approved policies that diverted funding from law enforcement to other entities and projects. Still, many have backpedaled dramatically as violent crime rippled during and after the social justice riots of 2020.
One organization that AV has bankrolled is Worth Rises, which is dedicated to “dismantling the prison industry.” Worth Rises, a New York-based nonprofit group that in 2021 received $75,000 from AV for “general support,” is a major proponent of defunding police.
“Yes, more than ever,” Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, told the Washington Examiner when asked if the group still supports the movement.
Worth Rises has called to “dismantle” police and urged state legislatures to roll back budgets. Tylek, a Harvard Law School graduate in 2016, was once an equal justice works fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal social justice group heavily funded by Soros.
“Yes, we must #DefundPolice,” tweeted Worth Rises in June 2020. “We cannot reform a system designed to brutalize and exploit Black people. We must dismantle it. We do that by removing its financial power. It’s time we unpack how police and prisons are funded.”
Yes, we must #DefundPolice. We cannot reform a system designed to brutalize and exploit Black people. We must dismantle it. We do that by removing its financial power.
It’s time we unpack how police and prisons are funded.
(Thread) pic.twitter.com/EuaaARRHCV
— Worth Rises (@WorthRises)
Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., aiming to confront “systemic injustice” and the purported “white supremacy and economic inequality” of the legal system, received $1 million from AV between 2020 and 2022, records show. The group has taken aim at the bail system and litigates on issues related to it.
In 2021, Civil Rights Corps published a memo that listed several reasons why defunding the police is allegedly a good policy. These included claims that black children would live longer, that people would be more “free,” and that the U.S. would benefit from a “punishment” divestment.
“The idea that police protect communities from violent crime is a myth,” tweeted Civil Rights Corps in March 2022. “They disrupt, target, and often inflict violence on black and brown communities. Police don’t promote safety, they commit the violent crime they claim to protect us from.”
“Abolition of #police and systems is not just about introducing legislation in the names of victims and giving police more money & training — it’s about dismantling the system and creating a new system of ‘public safety,'” the group added.
Forward Justice, a North Carolina nonprofit group “dedicated to advancing racial, social, and economic justice in the U.S. South,” received $325,000 from AV in 2020 to “end the practice in North Carolina of funding criminal-support systems through harmful and unjust legal fines and fees,” records show.
The group issued a “statement of solidarity in 2020 that called to “dismantle the systems of racism and oppression that have gripped this nation for centuries.”
“We must defund and demilitarize the police, end qualified immunity for killer cops, create community accountability and review boards with subpoena power, and invest in the brilliance of our communities to begin the institutional reckoning that must take place to create a fair and equitable criminal legal system,” the statement read.
Another group that has supported defunding the police while taking cash from AV is the Vera Institute of Justice, a left-leaning research and policy hub. AV has granted over $15.8 million to the institute between 2016 and 2022 for issues related to bail reform and prosecutor research, as well as prison pilot programs.
In June 2020, the institute published an article called “Protecting Black Lives: The Crisis of American Policing,” noting it is “committed to dismantling the current culture of policing and working toward solutions that defund police and shift power to communities.”
“We’re building on this unique moment of public awareness, outrage, and calls to defund the police.”
Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, a conservative investigative think tank, said it’s “sad” to see how John Arnold has continued to overlap in his donations with the likes of Soros and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“Oddly, as he moves leftward, Arnold has taken to whining when anyone points out what he’s doing,” he told the Washington Examiner.
Civil Rights Corps, the Vera Institute of Justice, and Forward Justice did not reply to requests for comment.
* Article from: The Washington Examiner
