“It’s just a bummer to work in an institution that openly allowed this, but talking about it only invites more. Just really sad,” tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called out Capitol Police on Wednesday after an encounter with a conservative provocateur on the steps of Capitol Hill.
Alex Stein, who has been described by some as a political comedian, filmed himself on the steps of the Capitol as Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez exited her vehicle and walked up the stairs to enter the building.
“AOC, my favorite big booty Latina,” Stein shouted beside her in the video. At one point, the 32-year-old lawmaker stopped and moved toward him. A woman, who appeared to be an aide to Ocasio-Cortez, began to stop her. But instead of confronting Stein, Ocasio-Cortez threw up a peace sign and appeared to say, “why don’t you do a selfie.” She then continued to walk through a security checkpoint guarded by a Capitol Police officer.
As she walked away, Stein continued to shout at her: “Look how sexy she looks in that dress … hot tamale.”
Moments after the encounter, AOC went on Instagram Stories to explain what happened to her 8.6 million followers. Referring to the Capitol officer’s inaction, she said, “This institution is not designed to protect people and it’s really hard and it’s really sad that my only recourse is to just let you know about it.”
Ocasio-Cortez also later tweeted, then deleted a photo of Stein. “This guy followed me up the capital saying “look at your juicy a**”, “you***Latina“ & bunch of other disgusting garbage in front of an officer who let him continue,” she wrote. “So I’m just going to share his photo here since there’s no other protection.”
In a later tweet, the famed progressive politician acknowledged that she took down the original tweet because “it’s clearly someone seeking extremist fame.” She then again lamented about the Capitol Police officer not stepping in to intervene.
“It’s just a bummer to work in an institution that openly allowed this, but talking about it only invites more. Just really sad,” she wrote.
AOC also clarified that when she walked over to Stein as he filmed her, she had initially intended to “deck him” because “if no one will protect us then I’ll do it myself but I needed to catch a vote more than a case today.”
Ocasio-Cortez continued to express her ire at Capitol Police later that day when approached by the press on the steps of the Capitol building. Speaking to Latino Rebels correspondent Pablo Manríquez, AOC reignited concerns previously expressed about Capitol Police officers who were Trump sympathizers and appeared to support the insurrectionists who stormed and attacked the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
“We never got to the bottom of that, and we never got any answers about that … we’re just supposed to pretend that that never happened,” she said. “We are not safe.”
The congresswoman was backed up by fellow New York progressive House member, Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), who tweeted about an incident that occurred two months after the Jan. 6 insurrection in which a Capitol officer was suspended after Jones’ chief of staff discovered an anti-semitic document at a Capitol security post.
“We still have not been told why it was in his possession, what vetting was done before hiring him and whether he got to keep his job,” tweeted Jones.
AOC doubled down on her criticism of Capitol Police, tweeting that there was “tons of footage and evidence” of officers “supporting insurrectionists.” She added, “But then everyone decided it was too politically risky to investigate thoroughly so they brushed it under the rug and now we still have no idea who or what is safe?”
The Wednesday encounter with Stein isn’t the first time that AOC has endured jeers at the Capitol. Other such encounters include her Republican colleagues. In July 2020, Ocasio-Cortez accused Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) of calling her a “f**king bitch.” Yoho later apologized on the House floor for his “abrupt manner.”
In May 2021, The Washington Post reported that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) “aggressively confronted” AOC and accused of her supporting “terrorists.”
Other House members, specifically women of color, have had similar interactions with Greene and others, including Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). She relocated her congressional office after her office that claimed Greene “accosted” the Black congresswoman after Bush asked her to wear a mask.
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