Marjorie Taylor Greene Confronts AOC

Ocasio-Cortez later asks congressional leaders to make sure Congress remains safe
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 13, 2021 10:55 AM CDT
Marjorie Taylor Greene Confronts AOC
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Two of the most high-profile members of the House—one on the left, the other on the right—are the focus of a flurry of news coverage on Thursday. The headlines came after GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia confronted New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the latter was leaving the House chamber. Coverage:

  • The Washington Post reports that Greene shouted, "Hey Alexandria" twice and, when AOC didn't stop walking, began shouting questions such as, "Why do you support terrorists and antifa?" She also labeled Black Lives Matter as a "terrorist" group and accused AOC of being afraid to defend her "radical socialist" beliefs in a debate.
  • AOC turned around once and threw her hands in the air "in an exasperated motion," per the Post. Later, an AOC spokesperson said Greene "tried to begin an argument" with AOC, and when the latter "tried to walk away, Congresswoman Greene began screaming and called Rep. Ocasio-Cortez a terrorist sympathizer." Added spokeswoman Lauren Hitt: "We hope leadership and the Sergeant at Arms will take real steps to make Congress a safe, civil place for all Members and staff—especially as many offices are discussing reopening."

  • Greene called AOC a "chicken" after the incident. And on Twitter on Thursday, she wrote, "'Ms. Defund The Police' wants to call the police for security bc she’s afraid of debating with me about her socialist (Green New Deal.)" The Hill notes that Greene challenged AOC to a debate last month on the plan. In her Thursday tweet, Greene called AOC "a fraud & a hypocrite."
  • This isn't Greene's first run-in with a congressional colleague. Democratic Rep. Cori Bush moved her office away from Greene's after accusing Greene and her staff of berating her in a hallway. Greene said it was the other way around.
  • NBC News notes that the new confrontation meshes with Greene's style of accosting political opponents verbally and in public. Before becoming a member of Congress, she posted a video of one such encounter with teenage gun-control advocate David Hogg outside the Capitol.
(Greene was stripped of her House committee assignments earlier this year in part because of her previous support of QAnon conspiracy theories.)

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