With the dome of the U.S. Capitol in the background, members of the DC National Guard keep watch outside Union Station on Aug. 19, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/Reuters)
"We must dismantle the current culture of policing in the United States," the Vera Institute said in a 2020 statement during the anti-police protests that erupted across the country after George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a White police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The liberal criminal justice think tank went on to affirm their support for "the outrage we’re seeing," and announced they were "building on this unique moment of public awareness, outrage, and calls to defund the police."
Fox News Digital has covered the Vera Institute for years, including its ties to former President Joe Biden's Justice Department and billionaire liberal megadonor George Soros.
The Vera Institute has advocated for defunding the police and has openly stated their mission is to demolish a "racist" criminal justice system.
A Metropolitan Police Department police cruiser blocks a street leading to the White House on Nov. 3, 2020. (iStock)
The president signed an executive order on Monday, seeking to eliminate cashless bail for suspects arrested in the nation's capital.
Rahman said Democrats should respond by saying, "They want money and privilege and to give a handout to the bail bondsman while we want to make sure safety, not wealth, determines who stays in jail and who goes home to their families."
She also advised Democrats not to let Trump "take credit" for crime going down.
"It's going down in spite of him and because of Democratic leadership like mine. That is the phrase you want to use. Don't be afraid of the crime debate. Lean all the way in. Call out what Trump is doing and say, 'The reason crime is going down, our communities are becoming safer, is because of us,'" Rahman said.
Members of the National Guard facilitate entries at the staging area of local and federal law enforcement agencies inside the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Craig Hudson For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Regarding questions about defunding the police, Rahman said Democrats should "call out the scare tactics."
"I'm not about scare tactics or slogans," she said Democrats should tell their Republican opponents. "I'm not afraid to have an honest conversation."
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"We keep expecting police to solve every social problem. No one profession can do that. We're spending too much and putting too much burden on them. It's time to pry out some promising new solutions to lift the burden. It's time for support and change, not blame," she added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC and Vera but did not immediately receive a response.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/social-media-erupts-after-dnc-speaker-says-migrant-crime-carjackings-dont-matter