Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday slammed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for running a 'Ku Klux Klan' caucus and failing to take action against Islamophobia in its ranks.
Her outspoken attack follows days of controversy over Rep. Lauren Boebert who was captured on video suggesting that Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar might be a terrorist.
A day earlier, Omar described death threats she said she had received in response.
'People truly don't understand the scale, intensity, & volume of threats targeting @IlhanMN,' tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow member of the so-called 'Squad' of progressive Democrats.
'Kevin McCarthy is so desperate to be speaker that he is working with his Ku Klux Klan caucus to look aside & allow violent targeting of [women of color] members of Congress. This cannot be ignored.
While people toss out clichés like "we condemn all forms of racism & bigotry," the fact is Islamophobia is far too often tolerated and ignored.
'Bigotry is not made unacceptable by what one says about it, it's made acceptable based on whether there are consequences for it or not."
Ocasio-Cortez continued to say that the GOP had been given 'freedom to incite' without fear of consequences, particularly when the victims were from minority communities.
Last week McCarthy angered Democrats and some in his own party by promising to restore committee assignments to two lawmakers accused of promoting violence against lawmakers.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday slammed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for running a 'Ku Klux Klan' caucus and failing to take action against Islamophobia in its ranks.
AOC accused Kevin McCarthy of running a 'Ku Klux Klan' caucus as she weighs in on the Boebert Islamophobia controversy and demands action
Omar (l) hung up on Rep. Lauren Boebert on Monday during a phone call when the two lawmakers demanded apologies of each other. Last week it emerged that Boebert had made jokes about Omar being a terrorist. A second video of similar comments emerged on Tuesday
The latest controversy erupted with video showing Boebert addressing supporters during the Thanksgiving break, when she told a story about sharing an elevator with Omar.
'"Well, she doesn't have a backpack. We should be fine,'" Boebert recalled saying to an aide, to hoots of laughter.
'And I said, "Oh look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today."'
Omar said the incident never took place. And the comments quickly attracted widespread criticism and calls for punishment.
Boebert tweeted on Thursday: 'I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly.
'There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without unnecessary distraction.'
