BLM co-founder under fire for awarding million dollar 'contracts' to family and friends

Black Lives Matter (BLM) has once again come under fire after tax documents revealed that co-founder Patrisse Cullors used donated funds to pay her friends and family large “consulting” fees and even charter a private jet.

Although Cullors resigned from BLM last year after facing scrutiny over the organization’s finances, she has repeatedly denied claims that she used the organization’s funds for personal matters and has defended her purchases and transactions – including her $6 million Los Angeles home – as legitimate, the Daily Mail reported.

The 63-page Form 990, the IRS form required for nonprofit organizations to maintain tax-exempt status, however, have shown that she used BLM funds to provide large payments to people close to her.

Shalomyah Bowers, BLM’s board secretary, received more than $2.1 million for operational support; Damon Turner, her child’s father, was paid upwards of $970,000 to help “produce live events” and provide other “creative services”; and Paul Cullors, her brother, was given more than $840,000 for a security contract.

The documents also reveal that Cullors used BLM funds to reimburse the organization for a $73,523 charter flight, which she claims her team took in 2021 out of concern for COVID-19 and security threats, the Daily Mail reported.

This is not the first time Cullors has come under fire for her financial dealings, however, and the BLM leader was previously investigated for receiving a $120,000 payment by BLM for “consulting fees.”

There is evidence to suggest, however, that Americans are growing tired of the BLM organization and have taken to the polls to voice their frustration.

Last month, Samantha Kerkman defeated Rebecca Matoska-Mentink in the Kenosha County elections, becoming the first Republican executive in decades after Black Lives Matter riots rocked the city, leaving more than $50 million in damages.

According to unofficial exit polls, Kerkman received 51.32% of the vote, while Matoska-Mentink finished with 48.5% of the total count, Kenosha News reported. 

Supporters quickly took to social media to celebrate Kerkman’s win, calling it a “preview of the November midterm” and claiming a “red wave is coming.”

Kerkman became the first woman to hold the county’s executive seat, replacing County Executive Jim Kreuser, who held the position since 2008. Kreuser was preceded by Allan Kehl, the county’s former Democratic sheriff who resigned in 2008 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws.

Although Kenosha county had not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since the Nixon years, voters rallied behind former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. The county remained in the national spotlight after BLM protests rocked the city in 2020 following the police-involved shootings of George Floyd and Jacob Blake, Fox News reported.