Did Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say that images of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States "incite violence against women of color." No, that's not true: The New York congresswoman, known in the media as AOC, did tell reporters in April 2019 that an "incredibly upsetting" front page image in the New York Post attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar for her "some people did something" comment was an "incitement of violence against progressive women of color." She also pointed to emails she said were sent by conservatives calling her "and others domestic terrorists." It was clear that Ocasio-Cortez was not making a general reference to all photos from the 9/11 attacks.
The false claim originated in this tweet sent on September 12, 2019 that was then published by Politico Daily News on September 12, 2019 titled "Ocasio-Cortez Said Images of 9/11 Incite Violence Against Women of Color" (archived here) which opened:
When you don't have anything to say or know that you can't win an argument, you call somebody a racist. It is simply par for the course for Democrats like Alexandria O'Commie-Cortez (NY).
Cortez says pictures of 9/11 are incredibly triggering and "an incitement of violence against women of color"
Insanity! Terrorists killed 3,000 people on American soil, and she wants to make it about race and gender!
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Ocasio-Cortez Said Images of 9/11 Incite Violence Against Women of Color - Politico Daily News
When you don't have anything to say or know that you can't win an argument, you call somebody a racist. It is simply par for the course for Democrats like Alexandria O'Commie-Cortez (NY). Where should we send your FREE Trump 2020 hat? Enter your address here Rather than blame radical Islamists for the deadly attacks ...
You can see for yourself what AOC said on April 11, 2019 in this video:
The Associated Press reported on her comments on April 11, 2019:
"The levels which Republicans and conservative groups whether they are official party apparatuses sending out emails calling me and others domestic terrorists, or whether it's Rupert Murdoch and the New York Post printing on the front page to circulate all around New York City an image that is incredibly upsetting and triggering for New Yorkers that were actually there," the New York Democrat told reporters.
"We are getting to the level where this is an incitement of violence against progressive women of color and if they can't figure out how to get it back to policy, we need to call it out for what it is because this is not normal," she continued.
The tweet five months later that triggered articles about AOC's comments was posted a day after the 18th anniversary of the attacks:
Cortez says pictures of 9/11 are incredibly triggering and "an incitement of violence against women of color"
-- Katrina ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #VoterID (@katrina_wiser) September 12, 2019
Insanity! Terrorists killed 3,000 people on American soil, and she wants to make it about race and gender!
We will #NeverForget who did this!
pic.twitter.com/ABspzh0qym
The Washington Post fact checked Rep. Omar's controversial statement in April 2019.
The full Omar speech can be viewed here:
