Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a ‘survivor of sexual assault’ 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic Congresswoman, said she hid behind a bathroom door in her office, fearing for her life during the riot

Credit: AP

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic Congresswoman, has revealed she is a "survivor of sexual assault", a disclosure she made during an emotional recounting of the storming of the US Capitol last month. 

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, 31, described being terrified for her life during the riot in an emotional broadcast on Monday night, doubling down on calls for Republican politicians to be held accountable.

The New York House member said she was harassed by those she identified as fans of former President Donald Trump for days before the Jan. 6 incident, and warned by other members of Congress to be "careful" on the day of the rally.

That day, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said on an Instagram Live broadcast, she hid behind a bathroom door in her office, fearing for her life.

She saw a white man storming into her office, shouting: "Where is she? Where is she?"

The congresswoman said it was a Capitol Police officer. However he did not identify himself as a law enforcement officer and she said she and her staff did not know whether he was there to "help us, or hurt us".

"I mean, I thought I was going to die," she said.

She evacuated with a staffer to another building, she added, and scrambled to get into a colleague’s office where she hid for hours.

Katie Porter, another Congresswoman, said she tried to reassure Ms Ocasio-Cortez while she was hiding out in her office. 

She said she told her colleague: " ‘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 just hope I get to be a mom, I hope I don’t die today’."

Thank you @katieporteroc for holding it down that day 💜 you’re a wonderful friend https://t.co/UvvZKDYwEr

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2021

The Congresswoman equated Republican calls to move on from the incident, in which five died and dozens of police were injured, to other forms of abuse.

"The reason I’m getting emotional in this moment is because 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 apologise, these are the same tactics of abusers," she said.

"And I’m a survivor of sexual assault and I haven’t told many people that in my life."

.@AOC is on live talking about the trauma of the capitol insurrection and relates it to her trauma of being a sexual assault survivor pic.twitter.com/et0SafP3ej

— Ryan Khosravi ✨ (@ryepastrami) February 2, 2021

She later said on Twitter that her’s was "just one story of many of those whose lives were endangered at the Capitol by the lies, threats, and violence fanned by the cowardice of people who chose personal gain above democracy".

Thanks for making the space for me, and hope we can all make space for others to tell their stories in the weeks to come.

And to those who wish to paper over their misdeeds by rushing us to all “move on” — we can move on when the individuals responsible are held to account.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2021

Several Congressional committees are investigating the security failures behind the attacks.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, known to her fans as AOC, is among the Democrats calling for Republicans who encouraged and repeated Mr Trump’s lie that he had won the Nov. 3 presidential election to resign after the incident as well.

"These are the tactics of abusers, this is not about a different of political opinion, this is about basic humanity," she said.

"We are not safe with people who hold positions of power who are willing to endanger the lives of others if they think it will score them a political point."