Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Opens Up About Sexual Assault To Discuss the Stress of the Capitol Attack
On Monday, February 1, one of the nation’s favorite Congresswoman took to her Instagram Live to talk in detail about the stress and trauma of going through the Capitol attack where she compared it to her story of sexual assault.
While the Capitol Insurrection affected everyone in Congress that day, it certainly hit harder to some more than others. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice-President Mike Pence were targets of the rioters but so were many other Democratic representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Katie Porter recounts how she and AOC hid in her office during the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 2, 2021
“I’m a mom. I’m calm. I have everything we need. We can live for like a month in this office. And she said, ‘I hope I get to be a mom, I hope I don’t die today.'” pic.twitter.com/efa6ASPOGf
She remarked to her viewers over the live stream how the attack brought back all the same emotions she experience during sexual assault. At this part of her story, she became emotional in a way many followers of hers have not seen; clearly this was an extremely difficult subject to talk about.
This is the powerful moment @AOC says she is a survivor of sexual assault and describes the trauma of the Capitol riot.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) February 2, 2021
“When we go through trauma … trauma compounds on each other.” pic.twitter.com/UCULUcY66m
AOC follows her explanation of the terror she faced by comparing those representatives who want to move past the Capitol attack to abusers and manipulators because they are “using the same tactics of every other abuser who just tells you to move on.” This sentiment becomes extremely important as many conservatives who want to destroy the second impeachment case against Donald Trump are arguing that it is too late to prosecute.
Republicans demanding that accountability is “divisive” and that we must “move on” from the attack on our country without recourse are taking a page from the playbooks of abusers.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2021
It’s sadly unsurprising. After 4 years of fealty to Trump, it seems many GOP have turned into him. https://t.co/McADMwnmCE
The controversy over the second impeachment trial only grows as Republican conservatives are looking for every loophole to have no reason to try the ex-president for his actions. While there is no precedent for this uncharted territory, the Democrat’s goal is to prosecute with the objective that he can no longer run for public office; an objective most people can agree on.
If you or someone you know is in need of support you can call the sexual assault hotline, 1-800-656-4673, and/or learn more here.
Writer
