- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Trump ‘ordered a terrorist attack on the Capitol’
- AOC argued against independents voting for Trump due to multiple lawsuits
- Democrats claim Trump will be barred from running for president in 2024 on January 6
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot was a “terrorist attack” and blamed Donald Trump for “ordering” it.
Many claims have been made about Trump and the events on the day the 2020 presidential election was certified, but Rep. AOC saying the former president led a terrorist attack on the U.S. government is a lofty claim.
Trump has not been formally charged with insurrection, despite multiple cases and investigations against him alleging he incited the riot at the U.S. Capitol. There are two ongoing lawsuits related to Trump’s claims of election fraud: one from the Justice Department and one in Fulton County, Georgia.
Trump faces nearly 100 charges ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November, where the former president will take part in a general election rematch with President Joe Biden.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (RN.Y.) told CNN on Sunday that Donald Trump “ordered a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol to maintain power” on January 6, 2021.
Multiple polls show that Democrats and independents are generally concerned about the charges against Trump. Meanwhile, Republicans say any indictment — and even possible future convictions — would only strengthen their support for the former president.
Asked about the argument against independent voters supporting Trump in 2024, AOC told CNN: “Has there ever been a president, Republican or Democrat, who has been subject to this level of criminal charges, indictments and investigations? This isn’t about partying. This isn’t about politics. This is about corruption and crime.’
“We’re talking about an individual who ordered a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol to maintain power,” she added in an interview with State of the Union host Jake Tapper on Sunday.
“That’s not about being a Republican. It’s not about being a Democrat,” the New York lawmaker said. “It’s about being unethical and… unfortunately this is the state we’re in.”
“I actually think the fact that it’s happening in so many places and so many jurisdictions counters that. This isn’t just New York. This is Georgia. These are also federal courts.”
Democrats still argue that the attack on the Capitol should disqualify Trump from running for president in 2024.
But the former president emerged victorious when the Supreme Court ruled earlier this month against a Colorado decision that sought to remove Trump from the state’s presidential primary.
The Supreme Court said states do not have the right to decide which candidates can and cannot appear on their ballots.
Protesters climb the side of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021
The events surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol have received increasing attention recently after the subcommittee that reviewed the House of Representatives investigation into the day’s events found that the panel had withheld evidence.
Notably, House of Representatives Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) released the transcript of an interview with the man in charge of White House security.
According to the transcribed interview, Tony Ornato corroborated other testimony that Trump authorized the deployment of the National Guard in Washington DC during the protests surrounding the 2020 election.
The entire National Guard authorization issue was central to the House Select Committee’s argument over the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, which alleged that Trump incited the riots that day.
The evidence that he approved the deployment runs counter to the claim that he did not want protection for the Capitol.