Ocasio Cortez Kicked Off
Why is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seen as New York's biggest villain?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is seen as New York's ‘biggest villain’ when it comes to Amazon's decision to pull part of its second headquarters out of Long Island City, according to a poll from Siena College.
- Remember when Ocasio-Cortez kicked off her freshman congressional entry by holding a sit-in protest at Nancy Pelosi's office? Or that she ran on the argument to voters that she wasn't going to.
- Cortez has made it known she wants to purge the Democratic Party of non-socialists, bashing Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden by name. “Democrats can be too big of a tent,” she told New York Magazine. Sanders’ spokesperson Briahna Joy Gray took an indirect shot at AOC’s vision of reading everybody out of the movement.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., reportedly has been de-listed from the board of left-wing activist group Justice Democrats, following legal and ethical questions about her affiliation with the group.
The Daily Caller reported that Ocasio-Cortez, along with chief of staff and former campaign chair Saikat Chakrabarti, have been removed from the board of the political action committee after previously holding “legal control over the entity' in late 2017 and early 2018.
The Daily Caller had reported earlier this month on Ocasio-Cortez and Chakrabarti's role with the PAC, noting that the congresswoman never disclosed to the Federal Election Commission that they 'controlled the PAC while it was simultaneously supporting her primary campaign.' Former FEC officials said at the time this could represent violations of campaign finance law.
It was Justice Democrats that helped catapult Ocasio-Cortez from obscurity to an upset primary win over then-Rep. Joe Crowley to an election win in November. The group runs a recruitment program by which activists can nominate grassroots candidates for office to challenge incumbent Democrats, and Ocasio-Cortez gave her support to that push in a video in January. The group has also backed her on issues such as 'Medicare-for-all' and the Green New Deal.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is streaming Among Us on Twitch By Andy Chalk October 21, 2020 Her first livestream has attracted over 300,000 viewers. Update: Ocasio-Cortez kicked off her first.
The Caller reports that Ocasio-Cortez and Chakrabarti took control of Justice Democrats in December 2017, until Ocasio-Cortez was removed from the board in June 2018 -- though she was kept on as an “entity governor” until last week. Both Ocasio-Cortez and Chakrabarti were only officially removed from the board on March 15, according to documents obtained by the outlet, almost eight months after attorneys had said she was removed.
The development is the latest in the controversy surrounding the left-wing firebrand’s campaign. Earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez and Chakrabarti were accused in an FEC complaint of violating campaign finance law by funneling nearly $1 million in contributions from PACs, including Justice Democrats, to private companies also controlled by Chakrabarti.
Although large financial transfers from PACs to private LLCs are not necessarily improper, the complaint argues that the goal of the 'extensive' scheme was seemingly to dodge detailed reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which are designed to track campaign expenditures.
The complaint was drafted by the conservative, Virginia-based National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) and alleged that the pair appeared to have 'orchestrated an extensive off-the-books operation to make hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenditures in support of multiple candidates for federal office.'
Her office denied wrongdoing. “There is no violation,” Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News after the report was filed. Asked if the complaint shows she was connected to 'dark money' during the campaign, Ocasio-Cortez replied, “No, no.”
Chakrabarti also defended the set-up on Twitter, saying, 'We were doing something totally new, which meant a new setup. So, we were transparent about it from the start.'
Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.
Capitol. (Courtesy of Justice Department)' height='220' src='//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1d4avK.img?h=220&w=300&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=375&y=399' width='300' /> Garret A. Miller posted a selfie on his Facebook page on Jan. 6, the day federal investigators say he stormed the U.S> Capitol. (Courtesy of Justice Department)Hours after he joined a mob of pro-Trump rioters in the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, Garret A. Miller took to social media to brag about his actions and to lob threats at lawmakers and police, federal investigators said. When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted “Impeach,” referring to President Donald Trump, Miller’s response was grim.
“Assassinate AOC,” Miller, 34, allegedly wrote.
That comment, along with a trove of other posts on social media, led to Miller’s arrest on Wednesday. He was charged with unlawful entry of the Capitol on Jan. 6, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction or impeding any official proceedings, civil disorder and making threats, according to a criminal complaint. Miller first appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Friday.
Ocasio-Cortez later said on Instagram Live that during the “traumatizing event” inside the Capitol riots, there were moments when she thought she was going to die and that it was “not an exaggeration” to say many lawmakers were “nearly assassinated.”
A spokeswoman for Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she feared GOP lawmakers would lead rioters to her: ‘I thought I was going to die’The FBI was notified of Miller on Jan. 8, according to court documents, when law enforcement sent federal agents a video Miller had posted on Twitter of people roaming the Rotunda and waving Trump and American flags with the caption, “From inside congress.” Days later, Miller posted images of crowds outside the Capitol.
With a subpoena of Miller’s account, federal agents say they tracked down the number associated with the Twitter handle and connected it to Miller, who lives in Dallas County. Investigators then found Miller’s Facebook account, where they found more posts relating to his activities at the Capitol.
On Jan. 2, Miller posted on Facebook that he was going to drive to the rally in D.C., and predicted an event involving violence and unrest, investigators said.
“Some crazy s--- going to happen this week,” Miller wrote. “Dollar might collapse … civil war could start … not sure what to do in DC.”
The following day, he wrote that he was going to bring “a grappling hook and rope and a level 3 vest. Helmets mouth guard and bump cap.” Miller added that unlike the last time he went to D.C. for a pro-Trump rally, he wasn’t going to bring his guns.
On the day of the insurrection, Miller defended the violent mob in several tweets by claiming they were “gentle with police” and “overwhelmed them but did not injure them,” according to court documents. The Washington Post has reported that dozens of police officers were beaten and injured. One officer died of injuries and another died by suicide.
U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died after assault on Capitol, protected with a kind touchMiller also broadcast his exploits in the Capitol on Instagram and Facebook, federal investigators said. In response to a comment on his Facebook page asking whether he was inside the Capitol, Miller wrote that he “charged the back gates myself” and that he knew he was going to force his way into the building “no matter what.”
He also acknowledged that by posting on social media he “just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol.”
For days afterward, federal investigators said, Miller continued to post more evidence of his escapades. On Instagram, he wrote that he “had a rope in [his] bag on that day,” court documents said. On Jan. 11, he posted a picture of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat in the Rotunda.
Miller also allegedly commented on the fatal shooting of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from Southern California who avidly followed the QAnon conspiracy theory. A Capitol Police officer fired at Babbitt as she tried to climb through a window and into the office lobby of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Miller hurled online threats at the officer, saying that if he got his hands on him, he would “hug his neck with a nice rope,” according to court documents. On Jan. 16, he wrote on Facebook that “its huntin season” and that the officer “deserve[s] to die.”
In a Facebook chat, investigators said, Miller admitted that he was “happy to make death threats.” And when he was asked whether police knew his name, he said it was probably time for him to “be hard to locate.”
© Courtesy of Department of Justice/Courtesy of Department of Justice Surveillance footage of the U.S. Capitol shows Garret A. Miller inside the Rotunda carrying two flags. (Courtesy of Department of Justice)In addition to citing the incriminating evidence on Miller’s social media accounts, federal officials said he’s also visible on surveillance footage inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. One clip shows Miller inside the Rotunda at 2:46 p.m. wearing a red MAGA hat and carrying a pro-Trump flag and an American flag, with his face covering pulled down below his neck. Another video shows him in a crowd at the entrance of the Rotunda, pushing past Capitol Police officers.
Miller is one of more than 100 people who have been charged with breaching the Capitol earlier this month. Last week, Thomas Fee, a 53-year-old retired New York City firefighter from Freeport, N.Y., was arrested and charged after he allegedly sent his girlfriend’s brother — who is a federal agent — a picture of himself inside the Rotunda. Similar to Miller, many alleged rioters have openly bragged about their exploits on social media, making it easier for federal agents to track them down and connect them to the insurrection.
In a statement to The Post, Miller’s attorney, Clint Broden, said his client “regrets the actions he took on Jan. 6,” calling them a “misguided effort to show his support for former president Trump.”
Riley Roberts Ocasio Cortez
Ocasio Cortez Speech Today
“Mr. Miller understands that his social media post[s] reflect very ill-considered and completely inappropriate statements made in very divided times and will certainly not be repeated in the future,” Broden said. “He has always been a law-abiding citizen. He accepts full responsibility for his actions and is prepared to testify at any legal or Congressional proceeding. Most importantly, Mr. Miller recognizes the election is over and Joe Biden is President of the United States.”
Miller is due back in court for a detention hearing on Monday, according to the Justice Department.