Democratic Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a live Instagram broadcast on Monday about the fear she experienced during the attack on the Capitol, encouraged by former President Donald Trump, which killed five people.
The New York Democrat said she was hiding in her office bathroom while a man screamed repeatedly: “Where is she?”.
While talking about this traumatic episode, Ocasio-Cortez, 31, revealed that she had also experienced a previous sexual assault.
“I am a survivor of an assault”she said visibly moved. “I haven’t told many people in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma accumulateshe continued during the live broadcast, in front of nearly 150,000 viewers.
The congressman chided those who she believed wanted Americans to leave January 6 and fail to see the impact of that event.
“These people who tell us to turn the page, that it’s not a big deal, that we should forget what happened, or even tell us to apologize. These are the same abusers tactics“he assured.
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Ocasio-Cortez noted that the atmosphere around the Capitol and Washington DC began to become tense and unstable in the days leading up to the uprising.
He said he was in his office on January 6 when he heard it repeated knocking on the door, as if someone is trying to get in. His legislative director then told him to hide, so he went to the bathroom.
At that moment she heard a man screaming and trying to find her. “I’ve never been this quiet,” she said on the air, referring to the attack on the Capitol.
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Shortly after, when his legislative director indicated he could do this, Ocasio-Cortez came out of hiding and saw a Capitol police officer in the office. He told her and other congressmen to go to a different building, but didn’t specifically tell them where to go or join them, so she felt unsafe, she said.
“You don’t know if that person was really trying to protect you or not.”, he pointed.
About two weeks ago, a Texas man was arrested who posted numerous comments and images on social media showing that he was part of the attack on the Capitol. That man previously tweeted that he wanted the murder of Ocasio-Cortez.
Garret Miller, 34, was arrested and served in the Dallas County Jail before being transferred to federal custody. Miller is now facing charges in US court in connection with the theft of the Capitol.
Miller is one of at least 119 people charged with federal charges in connection with crimes committed during the Capitol riots.
With information from AP and The New York Times.