New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Monday gave a live, roughly 90-minute, sometimes emotional account of the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former U.S. president Donald Trump, saying at one point she feared for her life.
On her Instagram social media account, Ocasio-Cortez gave a detailed account of the time leading up to the day. She also revealed, without elaborating, that she was a victim of sexual assault.
She brought it up in the context of members of Congress arguing that it is best for the country to move on from the insurrection and put it behind us. “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," she said.
Ocasio-Cortez said these people also have the same motives, in that they want to move on so they can do it again.
In her account, Ocasio-Cortez talked about being in her office with one other staff member on Jan. 6 when they heard a vigorous pounding at her office doors. Alarmed, she hid in her office bathroom and soon she heard a loud male voice walking through her office repeatedly shouting, “Where is she?” She said in that moment she thought she was about to die.
The man turned out to be a Capitol police officer, though he never identified himself and, she said, he looked at her “with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility.”
She said she and her staff member were instructed to go to another congressional office building, where she eventually ended up in the office of California Representative Katie Porter, and, later, Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley, both fellow Democrats.
Ocasio-Cortez also sought to dispel the statements that the insurrection at the Capitol was not planned ahead of time but was spontaneous. She said she began getting text messages on her phone the week prior to the siege, warning her to be careful on January 6.
She said, “Those text messages came from other members of Congress. They were not threats, but they were other members, saying that they knew, and that they were hearing -- even from Trump people and Republicans that they knew in their life -- that there was violence expected on Wednesday."
