Links Between George Soros and 'Defund the Police' Movement Emerge
Anti-deportation group affiliated with leftist billionaire linked to radical push
© press
Since the death of George Floyd last month, a far-left push to "defund the police" has been sweeping across America in the form of protests and violent riots.
Floyd was killed in the custody of Minneapolis Police on May 25, with all four officers involved in his death arrested and charged with his murder.
The image of white cop Derek Chauvin kneeling on black man Floyd's neck during the arrest has spurred nationwide racial tensions and triggered widespread protests, riots, looting, and anti-police rhetoric.
Now it has emerged that leftist billionaire George Soros is linked to the "defund the police" movement that has dominated the debate.
An anti-deportation group affiliated with Soros’ Open Society Foundations is one of the groups behind the movement calling defund or abolish the police, law courts, and even close prisons.
In fact, the Soros-affiliated group has been involved in the “defund the police” movement as far back as early 2016 — way before the death of Mr. Floyd brought it to national attention.
© press
While many Americans see the current protests and riots as organic reactions to the death of Floyd, many organized groups are seizing on the momentum.
The Soros-affiliated group is called Organized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD), according to Breitbart.
OCAD lists on its website the “Open Society Foundation” as a partner.
On February 16, 2016, OCAD hosted a protest in Chicago, Illinois, to defund the police according to an article posted on the website of #Not1More.
The groups is another anti-deportation organization — itself an offshoot of the larger and more organized anti-deportation group National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).
During that protest, activists sat on ladders in the middle of a street in front of a Regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office.
They were holding banners that said, “Dismantle ICE. Defund the police.”
The activists consider ICE “the largest police force” in the country and were “joined by leaders from the movement for Black lives who say there is a connection between their efforts,” the article said.
Activists shout "Defund the police! Dismantle ICE" on intersection of Congress and Lasalle #stoptheraids #chicago pic.twitter.com/jDXcvAB2Co
— OCAD (@OCAD_CHI) February 16, 2016
Other activist groups participating in the protest were:
- Assata’s Daughters
- Black Youth Project (BYP) 100
- Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY)
- Palestinian Youth in Action
- Centro Autonomo
- People’s Response Team
- Chicago Religious Leadership Network (CRLN)
Assata’s Daughters said in a statement at the time, “Undocumented people in Chicago and nationally are living in fear daily of being taken from their homes and away from their families.
"We, as Black American community organizers, can relate to that fear. …
"Our struggles are distinct but connected.
"When enforcement is overfunded, that is money that is not being spent on services that actually keep us safe.”
© press
An OCAD organizer and Policy Director for the #Not1More Campaign, Tania Unzueta, complained that Chicago spent “40% of its budget on police.”
She argues that the government should spend money on “developing and nurturing our communities not deporting and incarcerating them.”
"If these agencies have endless resources, they will find endless ways to target and harm our families,” she said.
"They need to be defunded and dismantled."
OCAD in recent days and weeks has been calling for its supporters to support the Black Lives Matter movement, posting on its Facebook page, “our liberation is dependent of Black liberation.”
