Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said the Republican extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene has a “fixation” on progressive members of Congress, and warned that Greene’s behavior has “raised concerns” among Democrats.
Greene, a Trump loyalist and a promoter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, was elected to the House in 2020, and has spent her first months in office harassing Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive Democrats.
Ocasio-Cortez’s warning came after CNN unearthed a video showing her staff being harassed by Greene, then a private citizen, in 2019. The footage shows Greene, accompanied by a man who would go on to take part in the Capitol riot in January this year, shouting through the letterbox of Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional office.
“You need to stop being a baby and stop locking your door and come out and face the American citizens that you serve,” Greene says. “If you want to be a big girl, you need to get rid of your diaper and come out and be able to talk to the American citizens. Instead of having to use a flap, a little flap. Sad.”
The video emerged two days after Greene confronted Ocasio-Cortez outside the House chamber. Greene shouted at the New York congresswoman and accused her of supporting terrorists.
Ocasio-Cortez told CNN: “This is a woman that’s deeply unwell. And clearly needs help. And her kind of fixation has lasted for several years now. At this point I think the depth has raised concerns for other members as well.”
She added: “I think that this is an assessment that needs to be made by the proper professional.”
Ocasio-Cortez, along with fellow progressives Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, have been regular targets for rightwing extremists including Greene. In September, when Greene was running for Congress, she posted a Facebook photo of herself holding a gun alongside images of Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Tlaib.
“We need strong conservative Christians to go on the offense against these socialists who want to rip our country apart,” the caption read.
In her 2019 video, which CNN posted online, Greene announces: “We’re going to go see, we’re going to visit, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”
She adds: “Crazy eyes. Crazy eyes. Nutty.”
Ocasio-Cortez referenced the video in a tweet, pointing out double standards between the behavior of some Republicans and that of Democrats.
“And now it’s revealed that this person [Greene] showed up to members of Congress’ doors with folks from the mob who infiltrated the Capitol, beat Capitol police and strung up nooses in front of the House,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“If the shoe were on the other foot, the GOP would be calling for my expulsion.”
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
