Can politicians use campaign donations to pay for guns, security?

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Political violence is becoming a bigger concern for politicians, but it’s not always clear how they can keep themselves safe.

A full security detail can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, which most politicians simply can’t afford. Because of that, some politicians use donations from voters to pay for their security.

But what about guns or pepper spray? That’s a gray area when it comes to what candidates can spend donor dollars on.

Linn County supervisor and former state representative Sami Scheetz said after Minnesota State speaker of the house Melissa Hortman was killed, it was a wake up call for him to take more precautions.

“My wife and I had really serious conversations about what does this look like, what does this mean? We had just purchas