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Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke on Monday in a moving video about the insurgency on the U.S. Capitol and how her experience was affected by her experience as a sexual assault survivor.
In a remarkably blunt account for a US lawmaker, Ocasio-Cortez recounted going into hiding as rioters scaled the Capitol on January 6, hiding in a bathroom in his office while hearing beatings on the walls and a man screaming, “Where is she?” Where is she? ”She feared for her life, she told an Instagram Live audience of more than 150,000 people.
“I thought I was going to die,” she says. “And I had a lot of thoughts. I thought if that was the plan for me, people could take it from here.
In the video, Ocasio-Cortez expressed his frustration at being asked to “move on” after the attack, equating it to the refrain heard by many survivors of sexual assault. “These people tell us to move on, that it’s not a big deal, that we should forget what happened, even telling us that we should apologize – these are the same tactics of the attackers “Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I am a sexual assault survivor,” she added. “And I haven’t said that to a lot of people in my life. But when we go through trauma, the trauma gets worse. “
Ocasio-Cortez, who was re-elected in November in New York’s 14th Congressional District, said in a video last month that she feared for her life during the attack on the Capitol.
On Monday, she said she had been concerned about the security situation for days, after being warned of possible violence from several people, including other lawmakers.
The incident at her office happened after she returned after receiving her Covid-19 vaccine, she said.
“I immediately realized that I shouldn’t have gone to the bathroom. I should have gone to the closet, ”she said. “Then I hear whoever was trying to enter entered my office. I realize that it is too late.
She said she heard screams then. “That’s when I thought it was all over. I thought I was going to die.
The congressman wiped away tears as she continued. “I start to look through the door hinge to see if I can see anything. I see this white man in a black beanie and I scream again, ”she said. “I have never been so calm in my life.”
A staff member finally told her that it was safe to come out of the bathroom where she was hiding and that a Capitol cop was present in her office. She and her team had left the office, she recalls, and had finally found refuge in the offices of California Rep. Katie Porter.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is Latina, previously said his fears were heightened because there were white supremacists and other extremists participating in the predominantly white crowd.
The second-term representative, whose New York district covers parts of Queens and the Bronx, is among the most prominent elected officials on the political left and a lightning rod for the right and far right.
She strongly condemned Donald Trump for inciting riots, as well as members of his administration who did not invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, and lawmakers who voted to overturn the election results.
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