On Wednesday, two Washington Post reporters witnessed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Karens) chasing and “aggressively confronting” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calling her a “terrorist sympathizer.” It was another in a growing catalog of incidents of Greene harassing and bullying AOC.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested the House Ethics Committee should open an investigation into Greene’s actions as there is increasing evidence that Greene seems singularly obsessed with Ocasio-Cortez, repeatedly publicly challenging her to a debate over the Green New Deal, where she no doubt intends to bully rather than debate facts.
CNN reporters Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski have uncovered a since-deleted video showing the now congresswoman visiting the U.S. Capitol in 2019, before she was elected to Congress.
Friday, May 14, 2021 · 5:06:12 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden
Rep. Eric Swalwell reports Greene’s spokesman harassed him in the halls of Congress today.
Friday, May 14, 2021 · 5:17:48 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden
According to CNN, the video begins with Greene and her gang of bullies filming themselves en route to AOC’s office saying, "We're going to go see, we're going to visit, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Crazy eyes. Crazy eyes. Nutty.” Greene is accompanied by Anthony Aguero, a conservative activist who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Aguero told CNN he was at the Capitol as an “independent journalist” but video shows he was participating by encouraging the mob on the outside as they rammed through police guards. Additional video from inside the Capitol showed Aguero inside the building.
The new video below picks up at the point where they find AOC’s office and discover the door is locked. Undeterred, Greene kneels down and begins harassing AOC and her staff through the mail slot, delivering a bizarre speech that begins by mispronouncing Ocasio-Cortez, a microaggression in and of itself. Greene goes onto announce, “I’m an American citizen; I pay your salary through taxes you collect from me through the IRS because I’m a taxpaying citizen of the United States. I am a woman, I am a female business owner and I’m proud to be an American woman.”
Let’s stop there for a second, because the insinuation throughout is that Greene is a true American and Ocasio-Cortez is something else. Her entire speech is dripping with racism. She proceeds with a rant about abortion and then pivots to straight bullying her.
“And I do not support your socialist policies and I do not support your murderous abortion policies. As a mother of three children, I am appalled at New York’s law for abortion and it needs to end and it needs to stop now. You are bringing God’s judgement on our country and I am against it, as well as my friends. So you need to stop being a baby and stop locking your door and come out and face the American citizens that you serve. 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 us having to use a flap. A little flap [she swings the mail slot open and shut].”
After Greene delivered her mail slot speech, Aguero and another member of Greene’s party moved to a second office door and began taunting the staff, saying, "You can't stay in there forever. Come out and play."
Greene’s behavior is disturbing, to say the least. And this latest video is another in a catalog of documented incidents of Greene harassing not only AOC, but other members of Congress as well—Rep. Cori Bush, who was forced to move to a different office because of Greene’s harassment; Rep. Rashida Talib; and Rep. Ilhan Omar; and Rep. Marie Newman, who has a transgender child. Of course you’ll notice Greene seems to be hyperfocused on women of color, when she isn’t harassing the white mother of a transgender child. Her racist, bullying behavior towards these women has been going on for three years now. This isn’t just toxic behavior, this is into threat territory.
For her part, Ocasio-Cortez says she has clear concerns about the mental health of Greene, who has also reportedly fallen into QAnon conspiracies.
The stalking and bullying behavior isn’t just targeted at “the squad.” Greene previously harassed Parkland High School student David Hogg as he lobbied for gun reform after the mass shooting at his school.
So, what exactly does it take to get censured or expelled from Congress? If Greene keeps it up, she’s likely to find out. We may not agree with Republicans, but none of us would stand behind a Democratic member of Congress who behaved like this toward Republicans. The floor of the House of Representatives is where debate is supposed to take place, not chasing members down through hallways and calling them childish nicknames and terrorist sympathizers. The House must address Greene’s behavior, and if the Republican Party had any ethical or moral guidance, they would be leading the calls for expulsion. There should be no room for this toxic, racist, bullying behavior in any workplace.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested the House Ethics Committee should open an investigation into Greene’s actions as there is increasing evidence that Greene seems singularly obsessed with Ocasio-Cortez, repeatedly publicly challenging her to a debate over the Green New Deal, where she no doubt intends to bully rather than debate facts.
CNN reporters Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski have uncovered a since-deleted video showing the now congresswoman visiting the U.S. Capitol in 2019, before she was elected to Congress.
Friday, May 14, 2021 · 5:06:12 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden
Rep. Eric Swalwell reports Greene’s spokesman harassed him in the halls of Congress today.
Friday, May 14, 2021 · 5:17:48 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden
According to CNN, the video begins with Greene and her gang of bullies filming themselves en route to AOC’s office saying, "We're going to go see, we're going to visit, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Crazy eyes. Crazy eyes. Nutty.” Greene is accompanied by Anthony Aguero, a conservative activist who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Aguero told CNN he was at the Capitol as an “independent journalist” but video shows he was participating by encouraging the mob on the outside as they rammed through police guards. Additional video from inside the Capitol showed Aguero inside the building.
The new video below picks up at the point where they find AOC’s office and discover the door is locked. Undeterred, Greene kneels down and begins harassing AOC and her staff through the mail slot, delivering a bizarre speech that begins by mispronouncing Ocasio-Cortez, a microaggression in and of itself. Greene goes onto announce, “I’m an American citizen; I pay your salary through taxes you collect from me through the IRS because I’m a taxpaying citizen of the United States. I am a woman, I am a female business owner and I’m proud to be an American woman.”
Let’s stop there for a second, because the insinuation throughout is that Greene is a true American and Ocasio-Cortez is something else. Her entire speech is dripping with racism. She proceeds with a rant about abortion and then pivots to straight bullying her.
“And I do not support your socialist policies and I do not support your murderous abortion policies. As a mother of three children, I am appalled at New York’s law for abortion and it needs to end and it needs to stop now. You are bringing God’s judgement on our country and I am against it, as well as my friends. So you need to stop being a baby and stop locking your door and come out and face the American citizens that you serve. 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 us having to use a flap. A little flap [she swings the mail slot open and shut].”
After Greene delivered her mail slot speech, Aguero and another member of Greene’s party moved to a second office door and began taunting the staff, saying, "You can't stay in there forever. Come out and play."
Greene’s behavior is disturbing, to say the least. And this latest video is another in a catalog of documented incidents of Greene harassing not only AOC, but other members of Congress as well—Rep. Cori Bush, who was forced to move to a different office because of Greene’s harassment; Rep. Rashida Talib; and Rep. Ilhan Omar; and Rep. Marie Newman, who has a transgender child. Of course you’ll notice Greene seems to be hyperfocused on women of color, when she isn’t harassing the white mother of a transgender child. Her racist, bullying behavior towards these women has been going on for three years now. This isn’t just toxic behavior, this is into threat territory.
For her part, Ocasio-Cortez says she has clear concerns about the mental health of Greene, who has also reportedly fallen into QAnon conspiracies.
The stalking and bullying behavior isn’t just targeted at “the squad.” Greene previously harassed Parkland High School student David Hogg as he lobbied for gun reform after the mass shooting at his school.
So, what exactly does it take to get censured or expelled from Congress? If Greene keeps it up, she’s likely to find out. We may not agree with Republicans, but none of us would stand behind a Democratic member of Congress who behaved like this toward Republicans. The floor of the House of Representatives is where debate is supposed to take place, not chasing members down through hallways and calling them childish nicknames and terrorist sympathizers. The House must address Greene’s behavior, and if the Republican Party had any ethical or moral guidance, they would be leading the calls for expulsion. There should be no room for this toxic, racist, bullying behavior in any workplace.