New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed Friday she is taking the time to tend to her mental health following the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
According to PEOPLE, the 31-year-old Congresswoman spoke on the LatinoUSA podcast and opened up about being in therapy to cope with the trauma she experienced during the dreadful Capitol riots.
“You have this transition period of escalating violence, which really culminated on the 6th, for which was an extraordinarily traumatizing event that’s not really being discussed,” she said.
The insurrection that day resulted in the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer and left many politicians and Capitol workers fearing for their lives.
As theGrio previously reported, Garrett Miller of Richardson, Texas faces five criminal charges related to the rioting on Capitol Hill, including trespassing and making death threats after tweeting, “Assassinate AOC.”
According to the report, the 34-year-old had a rope in his bag during the violent event and shared various photos and statements on social media wearing “Make America Great Again” branded merchandise while inside the Capitol.
Read More: The mob made me do it: Capitol rioters say Trump crowd at fault
“After the 6th, I took some time and it was really [Rep.] Ayanna Pressley when I explained to her what happened to me, like the day of, because I ran to her office,” AOC explained. “And she was like, ‘You need to recognize trauma. And this is something that you went through, but we’re all going through. And it’s really important to pause after that, because that’s how you process it.'”
“And I feel like I learned this the hard way after my father had passed away when I was a teenager … That happened at a young age and I locked it away. You have to live with it for years,” she added.
AOC went on to discuss that for most of Donald Trump‘s presidency, she was in a “very reactive mode” and that in addition to therapy, she’s taking time to slow down.
Just last week, theGrio reported that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was trying to bait Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) into a debate as the two were exiting the House Chamber. According to two Washington Post reporters who witnessed the confrontation, Greene shouted “Hey Alexandria” twice and asked her why she supports Black Lives Matter and Antifa. AOC did not respond to Greene.
Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for Ocasio-Cortez released a statement following the incident.
“Representative Greene tried to begin an argument with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and when Rep. Ocasio-Cortez tried to walk away, Congresswoman Greene began screaming and called Rep. Ocasio-Cortez a terrorist sympathizer,” wrote 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. One Member has already been forced to relocate her office due to Congresswoman Greene’s attacks.”
Read More: AOC says she ‘threw out’ people like Taylor Greene as bartender following Capitol clash
In the intimate conversation with host Maria Hinojosa, AOC also touched on how her district, New York’s 14 in the Bronx and Queens, was one of the areas hit the hardest by the global pandemic and how she had to get ahead of the country to save her communities. District 14’s population is mainly Black, brown and immigrant families. AOC shared that she mirrored many of her tactics from the aftermath efforts to aid Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
During the early days of lockdown, AOC was seen on the ground, delivering food and supplies. She was also seen doing the same in Texas following the 2020 storm, resulting in millions of Texas residents without electricity or food.
“To me, that is what leadership is supposed to be…When a disaster strikes, one of the most demoralizing things is when people start to perceive that leadership is not on the front line,” she said. “That they are putting themselves first, in terms of comfort and safety when it should be the opposite. We deserve better. We deserve to expect more from our officials.”
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