Tomi Lahren is a 30-year-old political commentator who worked for TheBlaze and Fox News. An outspoken Republican, Tomi has shown support for the Police throughout several television appearances and even at conferences where she spoke directly to several officers in Atlantic City.
She has also made comparisons of protests like Black Lives Matter to organized criminal activity, which has created a fair bit of backlash from her critics. In this article, we will be taking a brief look at her support of the police and how it has affected public discussion in the last few years.
The Atlantic City Police Conference
An event was held in Atlantic City in 2022 for police officers, with Tomi Lahren as one of the head guests. 2022 was a tumultuous period in America, where a large portion of the country was concerned about a rise in police brutality. At the same time, the other half showed support for police officers through their own protests.
The event had a huge turnout, with over a thousand officers from counties all over the New Jersey area showing up to attend. The Street Cop Training Conference is a regularly held event that assists patrol officers and instructs them on how to do their job better. While it may seem strange to have a political commentator at a policing conference, it is not uncommon.
The controversy started when Lahren commented that excessive force by police would not be as prevalent if “people would just comply with police, would follow orders, and not resist arrest.” This was only made worse when she stated that Black Lives Matter was a “terrorist organization” of “thugs, felons, and criminals.”
While those who heard reports of the event showed genuine disdain for the comments, the audience showed fervent support, clapping after the statements. While there is no doubt that several police officers are deeply disturbed by the rising violence in their respective departments, these slanted speeches have been seen before at policing conferences.
This does not mean the comments went unnoticed.
The news of Tomi’s speech at the event led to an ongoing state investigation of the company that held the event, stating that the speakers heavily centered around politics. They also criticized police departments that paid for the event, as it required taxpayer dollars for speeches that centered on something other than practical police instruction.
While Tomi Lahren may not have any criminal record to speak of (which you can confirm with a quick search here), she also has no background in policing. So despite fervent support for the men and women of the police force, many wondered if she was an appropriate pick to speak at an event meant to help officers better carry out their job.
She has also spoken at the Black & Blue Ball, a fundraiser to aid the families of officers killed in the line of duty.
Articles in Defense of Police Support
Tomi Lahren has used her public persona to make video commentary and a series of written articles and opinion pieces across several different platforms. As outrage grew over a series of brutality cases in the police force, Tomi Lahren wrote an article declaring that “we have your backs” to police officers.
Towards the end, she mentions that bad cops make the job harder for those with better moral fortitude, stating that police officers “weep right alongside the families of the victims” before continuing about her frustration with the media’s portrayal of the police force.
She has also taken to social media and a number of different platforms to criticize black celebrities for being “anti-cop” or “police hating.” These include John Legend, Colin Kaepernick, and Beyoncé, who have been vocally outspoken about their frustrations with the police being involved in the killing of several black Americans.
The celebrities have stated explicitly, however, that they do not hate the police and simply want reform and more action taken to lessen the loss of lives of black civilians. These statements came after numerous nationwide reports of black Americans being killed unnecessarily by police officers.