Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has explained why she responded to a group of hecklers disrupting her town hall event in Queens by dancing on stage to the beat of their drumming and chanting.
Protesters at the event on 19 October, taking place at a boys and girls club in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, came with an agenda to attack Ms Ocasio-Cortez for her support of LGBTQ+ rights. One person suggested that if they were not heterosexual, they were not allowed to have a house.
The New York Democrat was unfazed as the protesters broke out into chants of “AOC has got to go”, responding with a smile and dance of her own.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez addressed her reaction in a tweet on Saturday.
“These homophobes were yelling Westboro Baptist-style anti-LGBT+ slogans. What do you think I’m gonna do? Take them seriously?” she said alone with a laughing, dancing and disco ball emoji.
“If you want to associate w/ their views, that’s your business. But NY-14 will ALWAYS have a champion for LGBTQ+ people on my watch. Period.”
The tweet was in response to a post with a video of the interaction.
At one point, the lights in the room the event was being held in went out. Ms Ocasio-Cortez was then escorted out of the room, only to return when the lights were restored. She appeared exasperated at several points with the protesters, as did the other participants in the town hall — some of whom attempted to drown the protesters out with chants of their own.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez, a high-profile progressive serving her second term in the US House, complimented one protester during the demonstration.
“Very classy,” she said, with a smile on her face. “Thank you, sir.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez finished the town hall by speaking about efforts to increase public safety and recieved a rousing ovation from her supporters in the venue.
This is not the first time that one of Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s community events has been disrupted by protesters in recent days. Just last week, hecklers disrupted another event to harangue Ms Ocasio-Cortez about her vote to send weapons to Ukraine as it attempts to turn back the Russian invasion of its country.
The congresswoman’s brief career in public service has been marked by an atypical level of interest from conservatives and members of the far right, who have frequently attacked her on social media and at her in-person events. In 2020, Rep Ted Yoho, then a Republican member of the House from Florida, allegedly called her a “f***ing b****.”
Some have speculated that what has been characterised as a right wing obsession with Ms Ocasio-Cortez is due in part to her relative youth, gender, and race. Since her stunning victory over incumbent congressman Joe Crowley in the 2018 Democratic primary, she’s been seen as one of the rising leaders of the country’s resurgent progressive movement.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez did not face a serious challenge in this year’s primary and is expected to coast to re-election in her heavily Democratic seat in Queens and the Bronx. The elections forecaster FiveThirtyEight predicts that she will win close to 74 percent of the vote in her matchup with Republican Tina Forte.
