Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in an Instagram Live on Tuesday that she had a “close encounter” that led her to fear she was “going to die” on the day of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week.
The progressive Democrat said she was unable to provide further details about the Jan. 6 incident due to security concerns.
“Wednesday was an extremely traumatizing event. And it was not an exaggeration to say that many members of the House were nearly assassinated,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez said she did not feel safe around other members of Congress during the riot because she was concerned they might disclose her location. She feared “QAnon and white supremacist sympathizers” in Congress could “create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped, etc.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a QAnon supporter, has faced widespread condemnation for tweeting about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s location during the violence.
And Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) alleged during a Facebook Live on Tuesday night that she witnessed some of her congressional colleagues leading people through the Capitol the day before the riots in what she termed “a reconnaissance.”
The U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment about the incident involving Ocasio-Cortez.
The congresswoman went on to deliver an impassioned condemnation of President Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress for their roles in inciting Wednesday’s deadly assault as lawmakers convened to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes. She singled out Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who led the push to object to the certification.
“Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley …. You do not belong in the United States Senate,” she said. “You do not belong in any democratically elected seat when you do not believe that that election was even legitimate.”
She called on them both to resign, as well as the other 145 Republicans in the House and Senate who voted to overturn the presidential election results even after the attack.
“Because they would rather cling to power than respect our democracy,” she said of those lawmakers.
As for the slew of Trump administration officials who resigned in the wake of the insurrection, Ocasio-Cortez said it was “too late” and slammed them for their failure to instead invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
“You were a part of it,” she told them. “Those five peoples’ blood is on your hands.”
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