Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) needs a new car.
The controversial congresswoman, a proud member of "The Squad," has shelled out tens of thousands of dollars on private security while continuing to advocate for "defunding the police." Bush's critics, she said, need to "suck it up."
In any event, she is clearly not doing enough to protect the security of her vehicle, according to an analysis by Twitter user @JusticeDemWatch. Based on news reports and Bush's posts on social media, her car has been attacked on at least five occasions since 2014, when she claimed a bullet was fired through the trunk of her car during a protest in Ferguson, Mo.
In June 2019, the congresswoman posted a series of bizarre tweets in response to what she described as a suspicious encounter with a black vehicle.
"The black car with tinted windows sent to crash into me the other day was yet again, an unsuccessful attempt to stop me," wrote Bush, who was a candidate for Congress at the time. "So tell ya boss & ya buddies I only get more fired up each time."
The congresswoman had a message for the "cowards" who tried to get her: "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU & I'M NOT GOING TO STOP!" Bush proceeded to announce that she was not suicidal and asked her followers to demand an investigation should anything happen to her.
"If I choke, fall down stairs, die in my sleep, car accident, 'accidental' shooting, suicide etc. INVESTIGATE," she said. "I don't need sympathy, I need people to know this stuff is real and it has never stopped. Not a conspiracy theory."
Bush's car was allegedly shot a second time in June 2020. "My car took the bullets. I am safe," she wrote in a Twitter post that included photos of a white Hyundai SUV with a flat tire and a damaged door handle.
"A bullet went through my door handle on one side of the car, another went through my tire on the other side," she wrote. "I'm committed to taking us from 'surviving St. Louis' to 'living it.'"
Two months later, Bush's SUV was allegedly broken into and ransacked. The only item missing was the bullhorn she often used at anti-police protests. The Washington Post reported Bush's account of the incident, describing it as "the kind of not-so-subtle message of intimidation that the activist turned congresswoman-elect has gotten used to over six years of being a leading Black Lives Matter organizer."
Bush's car was shot again in January 2022 in St. Louis. Her spokesman told CNN the congresswoman was not in the car at the time and there was no evidence that she was targeted. "Any act of gun violence shakes your soul," Bush wrote in a Twitter post thanking supporters for their concern. "That's why our movement is working to invest in our communities, eradicate the root causes of gun violence, and keep everyone safe."
It is not clear how defunding the police would accomplish any of her stated goals.