Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clapped back at pro-Palestine protesters Monday who appeared to chase her and her fiancé Riley Roberts through a movie theater lobby, video footage showed.
Video footage posted on Twitter shows two pro-Palestine protesters approaching Ocasio-Cortez in what was allegedly a Brooklyn movie theater Monday evening. The two activists claimed that she has not called the attacks within the Israel-Hamas war a “genocide” of the Palestinian people. (RELATED: ‘Death To Israel’: Pro-Palestine Protesters Vandalize Iconic New York ‘Charging Bull’ Sculpture)
“You refuse to call it a genocide,” a man wearing a mask stated.
“I need you to understand that this is not okay,” Ocasio-Cortez said, before the man could be seen recording the incident.
“It’s not okay that there’s a genocide happening and you’re not actively against it,” the man stated.
“You’re lying!” Ocasio-Cortez shouted as she went down the escalator.
“I’m lying? You went on TV [and] avoided talking about it,” the man replied.
#NYC “You refuse to call it a genocide” – handful of protesters chase after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a Brooklyn movie theater, “You gonna cut it and take it out of context, I already said that it was” – AOC responded to protesters claims on refusing word “Genocide” , “This is… pic.twitter.com/mipmA5EHu9
— FreedomNews.Tv FNTV (@FreedomNTV) March 5, 2024
The footage shows the second protester, who appeared to be a woman, following Ocasio-Cortez down the escalator while questioning the representative for why she wouldn’t call the attacks a “genocide.”
“Then just say it’s a genocide. Just say it! Over 30,000 people are dead, AOC. You can’t just say it for once? Just say the word. That’s it! That’s all we want you to say,” the woman shouted.
The protesters then followed the representative outside of the building before Roberts blocked the activists, telling them to “stop.” The activists continued to heckle the congresswoman before she finally snapped at the camera.
“You’re going to cut this and clip this so that it’s completely out of context,” Ocasio-Cortez shouted as she walked away. “I already said that it was! And ya’ll are just going to pretend that it wasn’t. Over and over again. It’s fucked up, man! You’re not helping these people! You’re not helping them.”
Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly condemned Israel’s attacks within Gaza since their retaliation after the terrorist attack Oct. 7, and accused Israel of war crimes just weeks after the attack, according to Fox News. The representative has yet to release a public statement about the incident.