MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

AOC was NOT lying about being at Capitol during riots, here's the truth behind what exactly happened

AOC's office is in the Cannon House Building, which is reportedly accessible by a tunnel from the Capitol Building, and this makes the two buildings quite close to each other

When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Instagram live to share her traumatic ordeal about the January 6 riots and recalled what happened on the fateful day that MAGA supporters barged into the US Capitol, people on social media wasted no time in accusing her of telling "lies". She received huge backlash from the GOP with many questioning the very basics of her account. Soon, Twitter was flooded with #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett and #AOCLies.  

People are now curious about AOC's exact location during the riots as many have accused her of not being in the Capitol building during the insurgence. Others are wondering if she was in any danger at all if she wasn't at the Capitol dome. Throughout the video, AOC never claimed to have been in the Capitol dome, so where exactly was she? Here is a breakdown of what exactly happened. 

RELATED ARTICLES 

AOC attacks White Capitol cop who showed up to 'protect' her, suggests he deliberately put her at risk

Where was AOC during Capitol riots? Truth behind Candace Owens photos and ‘faking her attempted murder’ claims

AOC was NOT in the US Capitol dome 

AOC recounted the traumatic experience on Instagram Live on Monday, February 1, 2021, but many pointed holes in her narrative in an attempt to discredit the Congresswoman and asked her about her exact location during the riots. She never said that she was in the Capitol Dome, but she spoke about how she was scared and in danger. AOC's office is in the Cannon House Building, which is reportedly accessible by a tunnel from the Capitol Building. This makes the two buildings quite close to each other. There were also reports that rioters had placed pipe bombs in several locations on the Capitol grounds, which means that no building in that area was technically safe. 

As she hid in her office in the Cannon House Building, she heard loud knocks at the door, without anyone identifying themselves. The fact that she was in the middle of a violent insurgency propelled her into believing that the knocking on her door was by MAGA supporters-cum-rioters who were coming to attack her. When these people forcefully entered her office, all she could hear were men asking, "Where is she?" 

As it turns out, the man knocking at her door was a Capitol police officer, which she did not know at the time. AOC and her staffer both reportedly agreed that the cop's demeanor was aggressive and that they "weren't sure whether he was going to help or hurt (them)". When he instructed them to go to another building, with reportedly little direction, AOC, her staffer and her legislative director barricaded themselves in Rep Katie Porter's office in the Longworth House Building on Capitol grounds.

GOP's attempts at discrediting AOC

Why then did the GOP try to discredit AOC's story by saying that she was not in the Capitol Building? Rep Nancy Mace tweeted, "@AOC made clear she didn’t know who was at her door. Breathless attempts by media to fan fictitious news flames are dangerous. My office is 2 doors down. Insurrectionists never stormed our hallway. Egregious doesn’t even begin to cover it. Is there nothing MSM won’t politicize?" Candace Owens was also quick to attack her and tweeted, “On a day in which #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett is trending, please never forget the time that @AOC staged a photo shoot dressed in all white at a parking lot to spread lies about immigrant children in cages. Faking her own attempted murder was the next logical step.”

AOC was not going to be silenced with criticism for sharing her story. She took to Twitter to reiterate the fact that just because she was not in the Capitol dome doesn't mean she was safe. She tweeted, "This is the latest manipulative take on the right. They are manipulating the fact that most people don’t know the layout the Capitol complex. We were all on the Capitol complex - the attack wasn’t just on the dome. The bombs Trump supporters planted surrounded our offices too."

The Congresswoman added, "People were trying to rush and infiltrate our office buildings - that’s why we had to get evacuated in the first place. The attempts of attackers & publicly available communications show how they tried to gain access and share location info on finding members for physical harm."

'Her trauma is valid'

Many users on social media have since supported the Congresswoman after all the victim-shaming she has been facing since her Live broadcast. "The hateful trash claiming #AOClied are brazenly shaming a victim, denying their condonation of (if not outright complicity with) an act of terrorism, and they're demonstrating that they're exactly the kind of abusers and bullies who victimize people like AOC in the first place," one tweeted. Another user reacted to GOP's actions and tweeted, "Republicans trying to silence @AOC bc her trauma wasn't so "severe." 1) Her trauma is valid bc she feared for her life that day & almost died (which is true based on reports of charges given) & 2) Reps again victim-shaming & trying to hide their fault on the situation. Disgusting."

Many also called out the #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett hashtag which was trending heavily. "The #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett is just a reminder how quickly the GOP will easily try & discredit the trauma of minorities. They are victim shaming@AOC the same way they did Breonna Taylor & George Floyd. The GOP is just a giant joke that’s not funny anymore #AOC."