By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recalled the terrifying assault on the Capitol in a lengthy Instagram Live on Monday night—clips of which have racked up millions of views on social media.
The Democratic congresswoman from New York recounted hiding in her office bathroom as rioters breached the Capitol on January 6 as lawmakers were meeting to affirm Joe Biden's electoral victory.
She feared for her life, she said, as she heard banging on the walls and a man yelling, "Where is she? Where is she?"
Read More
AOC Accuses Ted Cruz of ‘Almost’ Having Her ‘Murdered’ After He Agrees With Her on Robinhood3 min read
Rep. Chip Roy Demands AOC Apologize to Ted Cruz For ‘Almost Had Me Murdered’ Tweet3 min read
Josh Hawley Calls Out Liberals’ ‘Lie’ That He Wanted to Overturn Election, Incited Violence4 min read
"This was the moment where I thought everything was over," she said. "I thought I was going to die," she said. "And I had a lot of thoughts... if this is the plan for me, then people will be able to take it from here."
Ocasio-Cortez's almost 90-minute livestream has amassed more than a million views on Instagram alone. But snippets of some significant moments have amassed at least another 3 million views on Twitter.
A two-minute clip of Ocasio-Cortez describing the time she spent hiding in her office bathroom was shared on Twitter by Hannah Croteau, who called it "bone chilling." That clip had amassed more than 2.3 million views by early Tuesday morning.
Another clip on Twitter, posted by Fran Tirado, shows Ocasio-Cortez become emotional as she disclosed that she is a survivor of sexual assault and likened the actions of some of her GOP colleagues as those deployed by abusers. That clip has almost 500,000 views.
"These folks who tell us to move on, that it's not a big deal, that we should forget what's happened, or even telling us to apologize—these are the same tactics of abusers," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"I'm a survivor of sexual assault," she added. "And I haven't told many people that in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other."
Later, Ocasio-Cortez emphasized the need to hold the Republicans—who played a role in the insurrection that left five people dead by pushing former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud—accountable.
"So many of the people who helped perpetrate and who take no responsibility for what happened in the Capitol are trying to tell us all to move on... forget about what happened," she said.
She said she had given Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, along with others, a month to apologize for their actions, but instead they had expressed no regrets.
"What that tells me is that when given another window of political opportunity for themselves, even if they know that it means that it will endanger their colleagues, they will do it again," she said.
In a tweet on Monday night, Ocasio-Cortez added: "My story isn't the only story, nor is it the central story of what happened on Jan 6th.
"It is just one story of many of those whose lives were endangered at the Capitol by the lies, threats, and violence fanned by the cowardice of people who chose personal gain above democracy."
Ocasio-Cortez's office has been contacted for additional comment.
...
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines