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AOC's real location during Capitol riots: Truth behind ‘faking attempted murder’ claims and Candace Owens photos

During an Instagram live-stream on Monday, February 1, the 31-year-old politician confessed she thought she was going to die on January 6 during the riots at the US Capitol

Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a liar? The politician has been branded one and more ever since a few tweets surfaced online alleging that she wasn't present in the building during the Capitol riots. Is there any truth behind these claims? Why is Twitter flooded with the hashtag #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett and do the accusers have any proof? 

Jogging down memory lane, let's look back at the clip that sparked these claims. During an Instagram live-stream on Monday, February 1, the 31-year-old confessed she thought she was going to die on January 6 during the riots at the US Capitol.

The teary-eyed Rep for New York's 14th congressional district opened up about her “near-death” experience and remembered how she had to hide in the bathroom after her legislative director Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez [as reported by Newsweek] told her to “hide, hide, run and hide”.

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The ‘near-death’ experience

Shedding light on the horrifying events, she said: “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 apologize, these are the same tactics of abusers.”

Ocasio-Cortez said she ran back into her office and slammed the door. “There's another kind of like back area to my office, and I open it, and there's a closet and a bathroom. And I jump into my bathroom,” she said, adding, “and then I just start to hear these yells of, ‘Where is she?’” banging at the door. That was the moment when she felt “everything was over.”

“And the weird thing about moments like these is that you lose all sense of time,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “In retrospect, maybe it was 4 seconds. Maybe it was 5 seconds, maybe it was 10 seconds. Maybe it was one second, I don't know. It felt like my brain was able to have so many thoughts.” She added, “In between the screams and the yells... I mean, I thought I was going to die.”

‘AOC wasn’t even in the Capitol Building’

Now, a day later, many critics took to Twitter to claim that she wasn't even in the building and she had planted a bogus story during the live session. "AOC wasn’t even in the Capitol Building during her “near-death” experience. One big lie. #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett," a woman with the handle @ScottPresler on Twitter claimed.

Many other reports claimed that her location seemed to be out of the Capitol. The rumors first circulated when conservative publication RedState stated she wasn't there. According to Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC), who claimed she was in the same hall as AOC, two doors away, there were never any rioters around so there wasn't any physical danger.

“.@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?” Mace wrote.

‘Insurrectionists never stormed our hallway’

The RedState report was quick to assume it true and claimed, “AOC’s building appears to have been briefly evacuated during the day as police checked on a nearby suspicious package that was later cleared.” Calling her experience an “overreaction”, it added that she was directed to the Longworth Building, where she stayed with Rep Katie Porter. 

When alt-right political activist Jack Posobiec — whose bio reads “Christian, China analyst, Veteran” — tweeted a fact-check on the same, political commentator Scottie Nell Hughes slammed him saying, “If you are in the mainstream media and you fail to honestly fact check a politicians story, guaranteed someone else will & make you look biased, incompetent, foolish or all 3. @JackPosobiec.”

Was the Cannon building attacked by rioters?

Here's a map of her office, reported in the Cannon building. If Twitter handles like @Breaking911 are to be believed, rioters didn't reach there. Defending herself, AOC then called those reports “the latest manipulative take on the right” in a series of tweets.

She said, “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.” Who is lying and who is telling the truth? Well, before that can be solved, the controversy only got thicker when a string of tweets about her past lies surfaced, thanks to Candace Owens.

Why was #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett trending?

The hashtag #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett was trending online in no time. In a sarcastic jibe, the hashtag seemed to connect her to the infamous Jussie Smollett case.  Soon, trolls joined in with tons of memes. 

One tweet read, “I wonder how long it'll take for #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett to claim that this image was a threat to assassinate her with a nuke.” Another posted, “I get sad when I see empty parking lots too... #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett.” Sharing a collection, one posted, “Best #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett Memes.”

A user wrote, “#AlexandriaOcasioSmollett Maybe @AOC should resign immediately. She’s trying to have @tedcruz and @HawleyMO expelled for following constitutional protocols and she’s boldfaced lying about her whereabouts on Jan 6! CANCEL HER!” 

The Candace Owens controversy

Candace Owens was quick to attack her, saying, “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.”

Backing AOC, Walter Shaub, the former director of the US Office of Government Ethics, shared more pictures from that same day. “Here’s photo of @AOC and @MariaTeresa1 that I took with my own camera in Tornillo, @RealCandaceO. You should retract the lie you’re telling about AOC—and, if you’re capable of shame, you should be ashamed for mocking the outrage over family separations and child torture.”

He added, “This is a lie, Candice Owens. I was there in Tornillo and saw @AOC with my own eyes. @MariaTeresa1 was there too, as were many others who opposed child torture. I paid through the nose for a last minute ticket to be there. @PhilippeReines was with me,” he posted.   

When trolled for it, she continued, “It’s an empty parking lot. AOC staged a photoshoot in front of an empty parking lot. What do I need to retract? She saw no children in cages despite her tweets to the contrary. Unless you have more photos?” She added, “Also— why did you all wear white? Why was she crying when she saw nothing but a fence? This was a staged protest, with photographers and coordinated outfits. #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett.”

She didn't stop there. “Since #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett is trending, let us all be reminded of the time Ben Shapiro challenged her to a debate, and she falsely accused him “cat-calling” her with “bad intentions”. How many men has @AOC falsely accused of heinous acts against her? She seems disturbed,” Owens added.