Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said in a tearful instagram video that she is a survivor of sexual assault.
She spoke of her feelings and aftermath of the Capitol riot on January 6th watched by over 130,000 followers.
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“The reason I’m getting emotional in this moment is because these folks who tell us to move on… these are the same tactics of abusers,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“And I’m a survivor of sexual assault,” she continued, her voice breaking. “I haven’t told many people that in my life.”
Ocasio-Cortez went on to say that no matter what kind of abuse or neglect they have experienced, “trauma compounds on each other.”
My story isn’t the only story, nor is it the central story of what happened on Jan 6th.
It is just one story of many of those whose lives were endangered at the Capitol by the lies, threats, and violence fanned by the cowardice of people who chose personal gain above democracy.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2021
“There’s no, something really big happens to you and then you deal with it and you move on, and then when something else happens to you, you deal with that,” she said.
AOC did not give any further details of the assault.
During the Instagram broadcast, Ocasio-Cortez later detailed her experiences during the siege, including how she said a man she believed to be a rioter broke into her congressional office as she hid in the bathroom.
“I just started to hear these yells of, ‘Where is she? Where is she?'” Ocasio-Cortez recalled.
At that point she said she was hiding behind the bathroom’s door, and was able to see the officer — who she says had not identified himself — moving through her office, including opening the door to her personal office.
“I have never been quieter in my entire life,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I held my breath,” adding, “This was the moment where I thought everything was over.”
“I thought I was going to die,” she said. “I have never been quieter in my entire life.”
Her legislative director later told her to come out, explaining the man was a Capitol police officer.
AOC went on to address calls for her to apologize after tweeting that Sen. Ted Cruz “almost had me murdered” during the riot.
“Some of the representatives who actually encouraged people to threaten members of Congress … are actually asking me to apologize for saying and speaking truth to what happened.”
“These are the tactics that abusers use,” she said. “And how I feel is, not again.
“I’m not going to let it happen to me again… and I’m not going to let it happen to our country.”
Thanks for making the space for me, and hope we can all make space for others to tell their stories in the weeks to come.
And to those who wish to paper over their misdeeds by rushing us to all “move on” – we can move on when the individuals responsible are held to account.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2021
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