The person banging on the door turned out to be a police officer trying to move her to a secure location, Ocasio-Cortez said, but the harrowing moment was just the first of many as a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol.
With around 150,000 viewers watching live, Ocasio-Cortez for the first time recounted in detail what she had earlier described as a near-death experience during the attempted insurrection. The New York Democrat also revealed during the 90-minute discussion that she is a survivor of sexual assault. She compared lawmakers like Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Josh Hawley (Mo.), whom she accused of trying to play down the seriousness of the riot, to abusers who attempt to silence and undermine victims.
“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. And I’m a survivor of sexual assault,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez added, “I haven’t told many people that in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other.”
The Democrat said accounting for the Capitol riot wasn’t about politics, but “basic humanity.”
“These folks who are just trying to tell us to move on are just like pulling the page — using the same tactics — of every other abuser who just tells you to move on,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “This Is at a point where it’s not about a difference of political opinion. This is about just basic humanity.”
