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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) called on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) To be kicked out of Congress while criticizing him for “crying over a book deal” after his publisher canceled the publication of his book after riots at the United States Capitol.
Hawley opposed the Pennsylvania Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden when Congress met to certify his victory over President Donald Trump on Wednesday. A violent mob of Trump supporters, fueled by false claims that the election had been “stolen,” stormed the building shortly after the start of the joint session.
Publisher Simon & Schuster canceled Hawley’s book deal the next day, prompting him to threaten legal action, which in turn prompted a harsh reprimand from Ocasio-Cortez.
“You pushed the insurgents and baselessly attacked our elections,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in response to Hawley threatening to sue the publisher. “Your actions fueled a riot and you raised funds in chaos. Five people died. Even your GOP colleagues have backed away from your actions. Yet here you are crying over a book deal. You should be kicked out.
You pushed the insurgents and baselessly attacked our elections. Your actions fueled a riot and you raised funds in chaos. Five people died.
Even your GOP colleagues have backed away from your actions.
Yet here you are crying over a book deal. You should be kicked out. https://t.co/9Xn8T9vol4
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 8, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez had earlier tweeted that Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the only senators to file a complaint during the certification process, should both resign or be expelled by the Senate. She said Cruz “must accept responsibility for how your cowardly and self-serving actions contributed to the deaths of four people yesterday,” while accusing her of using violence for fundraising purposes.
JOHANNES EISELE / AFP / Getty
Simon and Schuster announced on Thursday that they would no longer be publishing Hawley’s book The tyranny of big technology because they “cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what has become a dangerous threat to our democracy and our freedom.” Before the cancellation, the book was due out in June.
Hawley responded to the news by posting what he called a “statement to the waking crowd” at the publishing house, claiming the move was an attack on his First Amendment rights and was made because he was trying to protect “the integrity of the voters” with his objection to Biden’s victory.
“It couldn’t be more Orwellian,” Hawley wrote in the statement, which was posted on Twitter. “Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I represented my constituents, leading a Senate debate on voter integrity, which they have now decided to redefine as sedition. Let’s be clear, this is not just a contractual dispute. It is a direct assault on the First Amendment. Only approved speeches can now be posted. It is the Left which seeks to annul all those it does not approve of. I will fight this culture of cancellation with everything I have. We’ll see you in court. “
The Senate overwhelmingly rejected the unsubstantiated allegations of massive electoral fraud that had been heavily promoted by Trump before finalizing Biden’s victory, voting 92-7 against Hawley’s objection and 93-6 against the objection of Cruz.
Newsweek contacted Hawley’s office for comment.
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