AOC Opens Up About Capitol Riots & Prior Sexual Assault: 'Trauma Compounds On Each Other'

Late Monday night, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to her Instagram Live to share her account of the events of the January 6 pro-Trump capitol riots that left five people dead. While the public is only beginning to get a clear picture of what it was like to be in the capitol that day — particularly for highly-visible, Trump-critical lawmakers that Federal prosecutors have confirmed some rioters were targeting — Ocasio-Cortez shared with more than 150,000 viewers the details she felt she was cleared to disclose and opened up about how she’s been processing the heavy trauma of fearing for her life that day.

Due to pushes from some lawmakers on the right to move on from the disturbing and deadly events of the day, Ocasio-Cortez shared how that day’s trauma fell in line with and compounded previous experiences she’s had as a survivor of sexual assault.

• Hypervigilance (feeling tense or on edge, trouble sleeping and difficulty controlling emotions
• Avoidance (avoiding people, places and things that remind a person of the trauma and wanting to “zone out ” when confronted with these reminders; in some cases, PTSD sufferers have trouble recalling details of the trauma)
• Reexperiencing (flashbacks and nightmares, reliving the fear evoked by the trauma when faced with reminders of the event)
• Mood changes (depression and anxiety are common in people with PTSD)

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