A policy expert is sounding the alarm on a "secretive federal program” that could dramatically increase the militarization of law enforcement, and one that is likely to expand under the Trump administration, The Intercept reported Thursday.
That “secretive” program is the 1122 Program, which allows state and local governments – including local law enforcement agencies – to purchase equipment through the Department of Defense, and at the same discounted rates available to the military.
Although the program was created more than three decades ago, Trump, on his first day back in the White House, reversed a Biden-era policy that had restricted the transfer of high-end military equipment to local law enforcement – a move that Lillian Mauldin, a policy analyst and co-founder of a demilitarization advocacy group, warned could quickly spiral out of control.
“All of these things combined serve as a threat to free speech, an intimidation tactic to protest,” Mauldin said, speaking with The Intercept. “I fear that the 1122 program not only has wasted tax dollars, has increased the violent tactics by police departments, but is also part of a larger chilling effect.”
A recent report from Mauldin’s organization – Women for Weapons Trade Transparency – found that a not-insignificant share of local law enforcement’s spending in recent years has been spent on military equipment. Between 2020 and 2024, $6.1 million was spent on Lenco BearCats armored vehicles through the 1122 Program; $8.1 million on surveillance technology, and $6.2 million on weapons and weapons training.
“It is concerning to think that our police departments have increasingly more access to this type of military style gear to facilitate these raids and arrests,” Mauldin said.
With the revocations of the Biden administration’s limits on the militarization of law enforcement, coupled with the Trump administration’s frequent weaponization of federal law enforcement agencies, Mauldin also warned that the spending could soon become astronomical, and in cities already struggling with rising poverty.
“It really calls into question, when so many cities in the U.S. are facing crises of homelessness, of food insecurity, of rising rent prices, how are police departments justifying these hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of purchases?” Mauldin said. “...“We suspect that total spending could be in the upper hundreds of millions; my best guess would be above $500 million.”