US Capitol riots: AOC accuses Republican of trying to have her murdered

"Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren't trying to get me killed," Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Senator Ted Cruz.

US Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has blasted a Republican colleague for almost having her "murdered" in the US Capitol riots earlier this month. A number of Republicans - especially those who objected to the certification of Joe Biden's election win - have been accused of joining President Donald Trump in inciting the insurrection at the Capitol with repeated, baseless claims of a "rigged election".

AOC made the comment to Republican Senator Ted Cruz amid a back-and-forth over the GameStop saga, as she slammed a stock trading app for blocking investors from buying GameStop shares and increasing its stock price.

Describing the stock trading app's action as "unacceptable", Ocasio-Cortez suggested there should be a Congressional hearing before the House Financial Services Committee to investigate the situation.

Numerous members of Congress have suggested that small investors are being treated unfairly, while big institutions betting that GameStop's stock will fall are being protected.

This is beyond absurd. @FSCDems need to have a hearing on Robinhood's market manipulation. They're blocking the ability to trade to protect Wall St. hedge funds, stealing millions of dollars from their users to protect people who've used the stock market as a casino for decades. https://t.co/CGkJxVfzkv

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 28, 2021

Wall Street has made billions on the back of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and fought to deregulate finance to pre-2008 levels. And the moment regular folks beat them at their own rigged game, it's "SHUT IT DOWN."

How about this: financial transaction tax. Now.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 28, 2021

This is unacceptable.

We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit.

As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary. https://t.co/4Qyrolgzyt

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 28, 2021

Cruz responded to Ocasio-Cortez's statement, simply saying "Fully agree".

Ocasio-Cortez shot back: "I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there's common ground, but you almost had me murdered three weeks ago so you can sit this one out. Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren't trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign."

Republican Senator Ted Cruz has been accused by a number of Democrats of helping to incite the US Capitol insurrection on January 6. Photo / AP

Cruz later responded to Ocasio-Cortez.

"You know, there's a lot of partisan anger and rage on the Democratic side," Cruz said. "It's not healthy for our country, it's certainly not conducive of healing or unity, but everyone has to decide how they want to interact with others."

Ocasio-Cortez has spoken out repeatedly over the past month about the insurrection at the Capitol. In an Instagram post two weeks ago, she said that she and other elected officials "narrowly escaped death" and that she personally had an encounter, the details of which she said she couldn't disclose due to security concerns, "where I thought I was going to die".

She said there was "a sense that something was wrong from the inside" and that she remained fearful even after she was taken to a secure location with other elected officials.

Ocasio-Cortez, who is Hispanic, noted that her fears were heightened because there were white supremacists and other extremists taking part in the insurrectionist mob.

The second-term representative, whose New York district covers part of Queens and the Bronx, is among the most high-profile elected officials on the political left and a lightning rod for the right and extreme right.

Trump was impeached for inciting the Capitol insurrection by the US House of Representatives on January 13 and the US Senate will conduct a trial of the former president in the coming weeks.

While ten Republicans in the House voted to impeach Trump, there are growing doubts that the Senate will vote to convict him.

- additional reporting: AP