Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is facing criticism over initial claims she made about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with many noting that she wasn’t even in the Capitol when it occurred.
The controversy erupted after the New York congresswoman posted a video in which she described a confrontation with Capitol Police at her office, which is located on the larger Capitol complex. But it is not in the Capitol itself — which includes the dome, the House, and the Senate — and was where many rioters stormed in and were seen breaking windows.
Her office is located in the Cannon building, which is accessible through underground tunnels connected to the Capitol as well as via a short stroll down a walkway and across the street. It was also one of the buildings where staff was told to evacuate after suspicious packages were found in the area. Law enforcement found pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails in the vicinity.
In response to the incident, the congresswoman said: “I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive.” She also accused Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, of almost having her “murdered,” touching on accusations that Cruz and others incited the attack through their rhetoric about the election.
The bombs
While rejecting the accusation that she exaggerated the threat to her safety, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Wednesday, “The bombs Trump supporters planted surrounded our offices too.”
Facts First: The assertion that Trump supporters planted the bombs has not been proved. We don’t yet know the identity or motivation of the person the FBI believes placed pipe bombs outside the offices of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee the night before the insurrection. The FBI is still seeking information on a suspect whose appearance was obscured by a face mask and hooded sweatshirt.
So, now AOC joins the ranks of Hillary Clinton who claimed she landed under fire in Bosnia and Brian Williams who lied about being under fire in Iraq. Not to be outdone, the Alzheimer’s patient of the United States said this yesterday: “you have great personal courage. I’ve been with some of your when we’ve been shot at” to diplomatic aides at the State Department.
The mainstream media is crickets on all of this.
Can you imagine if a Republican Congresswoman had presented this lie to the media before an impeachment to magnify the issue or if Trump had lied about being under fire again. He made this same statement a decade ago.
