Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is giving proceeds from her online merchandise sales to an anti-police organization, as well as to the pro-immigration group that last year stalked Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) in a bathroom.
Clinton's group Onward Together is hawking coffee mugs, face masks, and other merchandise emblazoned with the phrase "But her emails," a joking reference to the scandal involving her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. Proceeds go to Onward Together partners, a list that includes Color Of Change, an online racial justice group that supports the movement to defund police departments. Onward Together also partners with Living United for Change in Arizona, whose members came under fire for harassing Sinema in 2021.
Clinton's financial support for the left-wing groups comes as she has warned that progressive policies could hurt Democrats in the midterm elections. It also conflicts with claims by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) that the Democratic Party does not support the movement to defund police. Though she lost in 2016, Clinton remains one of her party's most visible leaders. Her recent return to the public eye has sparked speculation that she could run for president again. Clinton spoke at the New York Democratic Party's annual convention on Thursday.
Clinton began selling the items following reports that former president Donald Trump destroyed government records while in the White House. Clinton said Friday the items are "flying off the shelves" and that proceeds will help Onward Together's partners "protect democracy, train progressives running for state and local office, and build a better future for our kids."
Onward Together, which Clinton founded after her election loss, partners with progressive organizations that support radical positions on police and immigration. Color Of Change organized an online campaign following the death of George Floyd that calls for "defund[ing] the police." The petition also calls for "divesting from and dismantling the systems that unjustly harm Black people."
"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," Color Of Change president Rashad Robinson said in 2020 in support of the Minneapolis City Council's proposal to defund the police department, which ultimately failed.
Robinson appeared last year on Clinton's podcast, You and Me Both, to discuss the future of democracy.
Clinton's group also partners with Living United for Change in Arizona, which came under fire when its members followed Sinema into a bathroom at Arizona State University and harassed her for her stances on various progressive issues. The activists filmed Sinema as she exited a stall in the bathroom.
Onward Together also partners with Demand Justice, the dark-money-funded advocacy group that supports packing the Supreme Court. The organization was founded by former Clinton campaign official Brian Fallon. A Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year in 2020, Fallon has also endorsed the defund-the-police movement.