You know what I would really like to know?
Why did Kent County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Pecker Becker use campaign funds to play laser tag?
Specifically on Monday, February 24, 2025, mere months before he was set to try Christopher Schurr for the police shooting death of Patrick Lyoya.
Did he at least invite the DeVos/Van Andel family or Heather Lombardini (currently embroiled in a dark money scheme) to join him?
Because if we’re going to blur the lines between governance and games, we might as well make it a party, right?
Unfortunately, it looks like this isn’t a one-time pop error in judgment, because according to publicly filed campaign finance disclosures, Chris Becker’s committee has logged expenses at multiple places like Battle GR, a local entertainment center that, yes, offers laser tag (and hatchet throwing, for what it’s worth).
And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with anyone enjoying a little team-building, the real question is whether ethically, or legally, campaign donor money meant to support a public official’s campaign be used for recreational activities?
Here’s the simple answer: NO.
Not unless there’s a clear campaign-related purpose, and it sure doesn’t look like there is one.
The RDV Corportation is the DeVos Family’s office, by the way. Becker is just one of the Kent County elected officials bankrolled by major republican donors in West Michigan, to include the DeVos and Van Andel families, founders of Amway.
The Receipts: Laser Tag, Office Lunches, and Campaign Cash
On first blush, two separate campaign finance reports (one from 2023 and another from 2025) list suspect expenditures.
Typical expenditures usually look like postage, website fees, signage, campaign donation fees, meals for campaign volunteers.
Note that these charges are NOT campaign strategy sessions or donor appreciation events, though some of his employees did contribute to his campaign. There is no clear list of attendees and no accompanied justification for how laser tag directly advanced the prosecutorial campaign of Chris Becker.
A campaign that was already finished by February 2025, by the way.
That leaves us with one explanation: he’s using campaign dollars for personal fun. He certainly would not be the first elected official to do this and sadly, I doubt he’ll be the last.
Pending a FOIA request, more answers will hopefully emerge on whether his office enjoyed this outing on taxpayer time and dime, who attended, and what internal communications looked like for this event.
Michigan Campaign Finance Law
Naysayers are going to ask why any of this matters at all and say it’s a “nothing burger” (I will refrain from my tangent on how utterly stupid that phrase is for now).
Well, naysayers, here’s why:
The Michigan Campaign Finance Manual provides examples of appropriate use.
“Ordinary and necessary” use should translate to outreach, materials, event rentals, and sometimes meals… not entertaining his staff on the Devos’ and the Van Andel’s dime.
In short, for the naysayers playing at home: his behavior violated Michigan Campaign Finance Law. And when you let your elected officials break the law, they will keep breaking the law if they aren’t held accountable.
Pay attention to what your elected officials are doing because it only gets more shady.
Accepting Donations from Judge Curt A. Benson
And to make matters worse, Chris Becker also accepted money from sitting Judge Curt A. Benson, currently seated in Kent County.
“It’s $20, is it really that problematic?” Well, I’m glad you asked.
Under Canon 7 of the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct:
“a judge or a candidate for judicial office may: (a) attend political gatherings; (b) speak to such gatherings on the judge’s own behalf or on behalf of other judicial candidates; and (c) contribute to a political party.”
Nowhere in the Code does it allow for financial contributions to an individual, non-judicial candidate.
Benson and Becker were previously at the heart of an ACLU complaint where a police detective faced no reprimand for jury tampering.
When Prosecutors Stop Prosecuting
This might seem like a small issue of a few hundred dollars here or there. But as always, the bigger context really does matter.
And it especially matters when the same prosecutor:
- Declines to prosecute police officers involved in felony stalking behavior and keeps the case quiet
- Outright REFUSES to prosecute hate crimes when they target gay couples (more coming on that story soon)
- Resists calls to recuse himself from cases involving previous campaign donors
- Conspired with Judge Benson in jailing advocates who spoke out about Patrick Lyoya’s case.
- Accepted money from the Grand Rapids police union during a previous campaign and had the balls to claim it wasn’t a conflict.
So when the public sees prosecutors dodging accountability and redirecting political funds toward laser tag, it doesn’t look like innocent fun.
It looks like a system that doesn’t care about justice and is more focused on games than grief, on optics than outcomes.
What’s the Real Cost?
Sure, laser tag won’t bankrupt a campaign. But public trust? That’s a different story.
Every dollar a donor gives should be treated with purpose and every decision a prosecutor makes should be above suspicion. When campaign finance becomes a slush fund for entertainment, it cheapens the integrity of the office. And when that office already fails to aggressively pursue justice for vulnerable communities, the optics turn ugly fast.
Ask yourself:
- If a public defender bought pizza for their office with campaign funds, would Becker prosecute? You bet your ass he would.
- If a candidate of color hosted a laser tag fundraiser for at-risk youth, would it be scrutinized?
- And obviously the prosecutor has time for games, but does he have time for justice?
What Now?
The people of Kent County deserve answers and the committee needs to justify them publicly.
More importantly, Kent County voters need to ask themselves: Is this the kind of leadership they want?
The kind that receives thousands of dollars from multiple members of the Devos family.
Leadership that fails to prosecute the powerful.
Leadership that refuses transparency.
Leadership that finds time for laser tag but not for justice.
Maybe it’s time to stop playing games.
What You Can Do:
- Submit complaints to the Attorney Grievance Commission and Judicial Tenure Commission (I certainly will be)
- Report the Campaign Finance Violation for investigation.
We have to demand ethical behavior of our elected leaders if we want things to actually get better.
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