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Marjorie Taylor Greene spent $65,000 in campaign funds on home fence

The fence cost $10,000 more than the median household income in her district

Graig Graziosi
Sunday 16 April 2023 08:58 BST
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Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly spent more than $65,000 of her campaign funds installing a fence at her home, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Ms Greene's schedule B itemized disbursements show her various campaign expenditures. Included in that list is a $65,257.49 payment to Bartow Fence Company Inc for the installation of an "additional security fence for residence."

The expenditure is not illegal; FEC rules allow candidates to spend campaign funds on personal security. However, the cost of the fence is more than $10,000 more than the median household income in her district, according to RawStory.

HomeAdvisor estimates that a typical homeowner spends between $1,400 and $4,500 on fence installation. Even if a special security fence cost ten times the high-end average amount, it would still be less than Ms Greene spent on her fence.

The Independent has reached out for comment.

Some critics on social media questioned the cost of the installation.

"Doesn’t she own a construction company? 65k for fencing seems a little much for a fence or wall around her property. Sounds like just moving campaign funds into her pocket," one user wrote.

There is no evidence Ms Greene pocketed the funds she used for the fence.

Ms Greene and her husband purchased her father's construction company, Taylor Commercial, prior to her election to Congress, according to Yahoo News.

Another user joked about the fence's true purpose.

"It’s not working, she is still getting out," they wrote.

Ms Greene recently became a defender of the public’s right to access information — which would include her campaign spending — when she began championing the US Airman who allegedly leaked sensitive US government documents that contained information about Ukranian troop movements.

The US Airman, Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested this week for the breach.

The lawmaker defended Mr Teixera — who was not acting as a whistleblower but was instead allegedly trying to gain clout in his Discord server by sharing the sensitive information — and pointed out that he was “white, male, Christian and antiwar.”

Ms Greene has been critical of the war in Ukraine, frequently complaining that the US is spending too much to help the nation defend itself from Russia's invasion.

The congresswoman is not exactly an anti-conflict ideologue; she has called for the US to deploy its military to Mexico to fight Mexican drug cartels.

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