AOC feared ‘White Supremacist members of Congress’ would turn her over to Trump rioters during siege
‘I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive. And not just in a general sense, but in a very specific sense,’ AOC shared
As the fallout continues following last Wednesday’s Capitol insurrection, Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to her social media this week to share the terror she experienced that day – at times fearing her own congressional colleagues would turn her over to the angry mob to be killed.
Late Tuesday evening, during an hour-long Instagram live that attracted nearly 100,000 people, the congresswoman fielded questions from her constituents and supporters on the app.
Not surprisingly, she received several questions about her experience on January 6 and only a few minutes into the video makes the stunning admission about fearing for her life.
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“I had a pretty traumatizing event happen to me, and I don’t even know if I can disclose the full details of that event due to security concerns, but I can tell you I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die. You have all of those thoughts where, at the end of your life, these thoughts come rushing to you,” she says. “That’s what happened to a lot of us on Wednesday. I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive. And not just in a general sense, but in a very specific sense.”
AOC also explained that she didn’t feel safe when instructed to shelter with other members. She admitted to her followers that “there were QAnon and white-supremacist sympathizers and, frankly, white-supremacist members of Congress in that extraction point who I know and who I have felt would disclose my location and would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped, et cetera.”
Read More: Democrats call for maskless Congress members to pay fine following positive tests
Substantiating her fears is that NJ Rep. Mikie Sherrill recently revealed that several Republican members gave “reconnaissance” tours to would-be rioters on the eve of the siege. And adding insult to injury, three other Democrats have been infected with COVID-19 after being forced to shelter with Republicans who refused to wear masks.
“So I didn’t even feel safe around other members of Congress,” AOC concluded bleakly.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez also spoke plainly about the trauma several of her colleagues are now grappling with, telling viewers that counselors and physicians have been made available to members of Congress.
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