Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez laid out her story of hiding from intruders during the January Capitol riot on a recent in-depth Instagram Live session. The right-wing media pushback was swift and unsurprising, both making fun of AOC for sharing that she feared for her life and questioning her version of events. The latest attack on her account is far from some right-wing radio crank or QAnon YouTuber, though. Like information on the layout of the Capitol that was given during private tours, these harsh words are coming from inside the House.
South Carolina GOP Representative Nancy Mace fought with AOC in the media, noting that she had an office near the Bronx rep’s and didn’t believe herself to be in danger.
Mace’s new report that no insurrectionists stormed their part of the Capitol complex may be true, but that doesn’t change AOC’s story one bit. The congresswoman had every right to fear for her safety, as she’s been made into a conservative target since her election, painting quite a large X on her for the types who were at the Capitol riot. Someone did barge into AOC’s office while she was hiding in the bathroom, though they turned out to be a Capitol police officer. From the other side of the door, Ocasio-Cortez thought she “was going to die."
"And the weird thing about moments like these is that you lose all sense of time," Ocasio-Cortez said. "In retrospect, maybe it was four seconds. Maybe it was five seconds, maybe it was 10 seconds. Maybe it was one second, I don't know. It felt like my brain was able to have so many thoughts."
In her grilling of Mace, AOC pointed out that the representative had spoken multiple times about the fear she felt on Jan. 6. Mace stuck to the hard line that rioters never made it into their offices, a willfully obtuse response meant to paint Ocasio-Cortez as a liar.
