Rape Survivor Rep. Nancy Mace Defends Criticism from AOC over Attempt to ‘Silence’ Survivors

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 13: Congresswoman-elect Nancy Mace (R-SC) (L) arrives at the U.S
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Kyle Morris

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is defending herself after she contradicted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and stated “no insurrectionists stormed our hallway” in the Cannon office building after the New York Congresswoman was challenged by some conservative media outlets over her claims regarding the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

On Wednesday, Mace stated that Ocasio-Cortez “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,” Mace added. “Insurrectionists never stormed our hallway. Egregious doesn’t even begin to cover it. Is there nothing MSM won’t politicize?”

Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to respond to Mace in a series of tweets, claiming that Mace’s “disgusting attack” was “deeply cynical.”

“As the Capitol complex was stormed and people were being killed, none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet.

“Wild that @NancyMace is discrediting herself less than 1 mo in office w/ such dishonest attacks,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “She *went on record* saying she barricaded in fear. @NancyMace who else’s experiences will you minimize?Capitol Police in Longworth? Custodial workers who cleaned up shards of glass?”

“All I can think of w/ folks like her dishonestly claiming that survivors are exaggerating are the stories of veterans and survivors in my community who deny themselves care they need & deserve bc they internalize voices like hers saying what they went through ‘wasn’t bad enough,'” Ocasio-Cortez added.

Ocasio-Cortez also accused Mace, a rape survivor, of attempting to “shame or silence” survivors of trauma.

Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks came after Mace shared an image of the two of them from Fox News, which linked to an article detailing backlash Ocasio-Cortez is receiving over her recollection of events from January 6.

“This is where the true damage of what @NancyMace is doing comes in,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “How many survivors are watching her? Who now, seeing her, won’t get care or will feel further shame or silence? Who won’t speak up bc they know there are voices in leadership ready to minimize their experiences?”

Ocasio-Cortez claimed Mace’s comments extend to others who were at the Capitol on January 6, saying that Mace is discrediting their experience on that day.

Ocasio-Cortez questioned in a separate tweet:

How many food workers or custodial workers or Capitol Police officers, who ran for their lives in Longworth or feared for their families in the weeks after the attacks, now think their terror is less valid because of her statements. Mace’s attacks are attacks on them, too.

Mace responded to Ocasio-Cortez in a tweet, telling the Bronx-born representative that she has “not once discounted your fear. We were ALL terrified that day.”

“I’m stating the fact that insurrectionists were never in our hallway… because they weren’t,” Mace added. “I deal in facts. Unlike you, apparently.”

Mace continued her defense, writing in another tweet that Ocasio-Cortez is now “making this political.”

“In typical @AOC fashion, you’re making this political, even going as far as saying I don’t ‘hear’ victims of assault — ME, of all people,” Mace said in the tweet. “You don’t know my story. SMH. Just stop it.”

After being blamed for attempting to silence those who experienced the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, Mace noted that Ocasio-Cortez “demonized Capitol Police officers.”

Multiple reports stated that Ocasio-Cortez was not actually in the Capitol, contradicting what many people believed to be Ocasio-Cortez’s story from within the U.S. Capitol building.

As reported by the New York Post, Ocasio-Cortez “had been barricaded in her office for hours when a man who turned out to be a Capitol Police officer rushed into her office to direct her to a safer location for lawmakers.”

The Post also noted that Ocasio-Cortez said the officer had “‘anger and hostility in his eyes,’ making her question if he was trying to put her in a ‘vulnerable situation.’ Still, she chose to trust him and not ‘pass judgment.'”

As reported by Breitbart News, “The U.S. Capitol complex is a series of buildings—the actual Capitol is at the center of it with the world-famous dome on top. There are also several House and Senate office buildings on either side across the street—but connected underground via tunnels.”

Follow Kyle on Twitter @RealKyleMorris and Facebook.

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