Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed on Monday that she is a survivor of sexual assault, and accused Trump defenders of using "the tactics of abusers."
In an emotional Instagram Live on Monday night, the 31-year-old Democratic congresswoman opened up about how her experience of the Capitol siege last month was impacted by her trauma.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the 14th district in New York City, compared those in the GOP who are urging Americans to move past the deadly riot to abusers.
"They're trying to tell us to move on without any accountability, without any truth-telling, or without confronting the extreme damage, loss of life, trauma," the lawmaker said of Trump defenders and certain Republicans.
On the verge of tears, as she relived painful memories to around 100,000 viewers, she went on to say, "The reason I say this, and the reason I'm getting emotional is because they told us to move on, that it's not a big deal, that we should forget what happened, or even telling us to apologize.
"These are the tactics of abusers. I'm a survivor of sexual assault and I haven't told many people that in my life."
"But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other," she continued. "Whether you had a negligent parent, or whether you had someone who was verbally abusive to you, whether you are a survivor of abuse, whether you experience any sort of trauma in your life, small to large. These episodes can compound on each other."
When recounting her experience of the January 6 insurrection in the Instagram Live, Ocasio-Cortez explained that she managed to hide with Rep. Katie Porter in her office.
She also recalled how she had locked herself in her office bathroom for a while as she thought the rioters were attempting to breach her office. Fortunately, the individual she had heard was a Capitol officer.
"My story is not the only story, nor is it the central story, it's one of many stories of what these people did in creating this environment," Ocasio-Cortez added. "These folks who are just trying to tell us to move on are just like pulling the page - they're using the same tactics - of every other abuser who tells you to move on."