The frontrunner for the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, has been investing heavily in private security services for his campaign and personal safety, despite his previous stance on defunding the police.
Records show that Mamdani’s campaign has spent $33,495 on private security, with payments made to Advanced Security & Investigations in June and July.
Advanced Security & Investigations offers various security services, including armed and unarmed protection.
The company also employs personnel from law enforcement agencies Mamdani has previously called to defund, such as the NYPD and the New York State Police.
The payments made by Mamdani’s campaign were listed for “security” purposes and ranged from $8,000 to $13,000.
Recently, Mamdani made headlines for hosting a lavish wedding celebration in Uganda, which was reportedly guarded by armed special Ugandan military forces and his private security detail.
In light of a recent shooting incident in Manhattan, Mamdani has faced backlash for his past calls to defund the NYPD. However, he has since stated that his current campaign positions do not align with his previous social media statements.
While Mamdani has clarified that he is not running to defund the police, he has not disavowed his pledge to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group if elected as mayor.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand, Brie Stimson, and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Author: Peter Pinedo, Politics Writer for Fox News Digital
