Police Tech Giant Axon Is Concealing Its Political Spending
Police body camera and weapons juggernaut Axon is reporting blockbuster earnings amid the Trump administration’s explosive spending on immigration policing. The company is resisting efforts to make it disclose its political spending strategy.
This year, Axon is expected to receive $220 million in taxpayer funding for a single Immigration and Customs Enforcement taser contract. (Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)
A massive corporation helping police surveil communities across America is trying to make sure nobody can surveil its political influence machine.
Police body camera and weapons juggernaut Axon is being sued by shareholders who allege it illegally blocked an investor-led proposal asking the company to detail its political spending — including dark money donations. This comes as Axon reports record lobbying expenditures, blockbuster earnings, and “major opportunit[ies]” amid the Trump administration’s explosive spending on immigration policing.
Axon was sued by shareholders last month after rejecting a transparency proposal asking the policing technology firm to disclose its political spending strategy and make transparent all direct and indirect political contributions. Under the law, companies may exclude nonbinding shareholder proposals from consideration for various reasons, including if they are determined to “micromanage” operations.
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