Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned President Trump on Wednesday for pushing a conspiracy theory about an elderly protester recently injured at the hands of police in Buffalo.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, denounced the president during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” a day after Mr. Trump speculated the protester was a provocateur.
“It was horrendous and horrific,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said on the show. “The president targeted a 75-year-old, justice-loving man who wanted to stand up for his neighbors and wanted to stand up for his fellow black Americans in making sure that everyone is treated equally in the eyes of the law.”
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive regularly critical of Mr. Trump, was reacting to the president having posted on social media the previous day about the protester, Martin Gugino.
Mr. Gugino, a longtime activist, was shoved to the ground by members of the Buffalo Police Department last Thursday during a protest outside City Hall, hitting his head on the pavement and requiring hospitalization. The incident was caught on video and subsequently went viral on social media, including on Twitter where Mr. Trump weighed in early Tuesday.
Reacting to the encounter Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump cited a report put out by the right-wing One America News Network, or OAN, which speculated that the elderly protester is an anti-fascist “provocateur” who had been trying to eavesdrop on police communications before being injured and that the incident may have been a “set up.”
“To target him when everyone saw on video exactly what happened is just such a reprehensible act,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez reacted the next day. “It just goes to show how far we have to go in the fight for justice in this country.”
Mr. Gugino was injured as the BPD broke up a protest taking place against police brutality and systemic racism that was sparked by the killing last month of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in the custody of law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He remained hospitalized as of Tuesday, five days after being injured, according to The Buffalo News. Two of the officers have been suspended and face related criminal charges.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress, represents a district on the other side of New York state that encompasses part of the Bronx and Queens.
