Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York mocked Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia after the Republican’s appearance at a rally to protest the arraignment of former President Donald Trump ended with her being drowned out by counter-protesters.
“Welcome to NYC!” Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Where there are still social consequences for shameless bigotry.”
Ms Greene, among the most outspoken far right Republicans in Congress, travelled to heavily-Democratic New York to rally supporters of Mr Trump’s supporters outside the courthouse in Manhattan where he was arraigned.
It was not the easiest trip. Turnout for Ms Greene’s rally was relatively light, with pro-Trump protesters reportedly outnumbered by reporters. Some members of the New York Young Republican Club were on hand for the event, joined, briefly, by Rep George Santos of New York.
But it was hard to hear part of Ms Greene’s remarks due to noise made by counter-protesters endevouring to drown out her “hate speech” – as it was described this week by New York City mayor Eric Adams.
Another reason it may have been hard to hear Ms Greene was that Trump supporters reportedly handed out whistles, apparently unaware of the effect the whistling would have on pro-Trump speeches.
Those who could hear Ms Greene’s remarks heard her strike out at a range of figures including Mr Adams and argue that charging former leaders for alleged crimes is something that happens in “communist countries.”
“I’m here to protest and use my voice and take a stand,” Ms Greene said during her speech. “Every American should take a stand. This is what happens in communist countries — not the United States of America. We have to take a stand against the injustice, the corruption, and the communist Democrats.”
On Tuesday night, Ms Ocasio-Cortez sounded a very different note after Mr Trump posted a picture of the daughter of the judge presiding over his criminal case on social media.
“Let’s be very clear: intimidation and stochastic terror are the core tools of Trump and the fascist movements that support him,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “They rely on it to skirt consequence and silence others - and each time it works, they grow more brazen. One reason why accountability is so important[.]”
