Koch brothers work to stop police militarization, prevent another Ferguson
While many Americans have learned of police militarization and the misconduct it can enable for the first time thanks to recent events in Ferguson, the billionaire Koch brothers have funded opposition to militarized police for decades. Often vilified by the left as a paramount negative influence in American politics, the Kochs have a long history of support for what is sometimes considered a liberal cause célèbre — as explained by Mark Holden of Koch Industries:
This support has included funding of police brutality expert Radley Balko, author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces, during his time at the libertarian Cato Institute and Reason Magazine. Both organizations continue to address police militarization and criminal justice reform since Balko's departure for TheWashington Post, with Cato maintaining a long-term Project on Criminal Justice.
David Koch also supports gay marriage, legalizing marijuana, and an end to American wars in the Middle East.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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