Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a sexual assault survivor

Democratic congresswoman reveals past trauma during candid account of Capitol attack

The Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday spoke in an emotional video about the insurrection at the US Capitol, and how what she went through was affected by her experience as a survivor of sexual assault.

In an account remarkably candid for an American lawmaker, Ocasio-Cortez recounted going into hiding as rioters scaled the Capitol on 6 January, hiding in a bathroom in her office while hearing banging on the walls and a man yelling: Where is she? Where is she?" She had feared for her life, she told an Instagram Live audience of more than 150,000 people.