AOC says the US is 'truly facing an environment of fascism' where voter intimidation 'brings us to Jim Crow'
- AOC said the US is experiencing fascism and voter intimidation that mimics the Jim Crow era.
- As the midterms approach, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said Americans must "strongly defend democracy" in the US.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the US is experiencing "an environment of fascism" as some states are facing concerns of voter intimidation amid early voting.
Ocasio-Cortez's comments on Friday come as a federal judge ruled it is acceptable for activists to watch ballot drop boxes following reports of armed and masked individuals monitoring a ballot drop in Mesa, Arizona last week.
"We are really truly facing an environment of fascism in the United States of America. This type of intimidation at the polls brings us to Jim Crow," Ocasio-Cortez said on MSNBC's "All in with Chris Hayes" on Friday in a conversation with Hayes and Rep. Jamie Raskin.
"It brings us back and harkens back to a very unique form of American apartheid that is not that long past ago, and we have never fully healed from it," she added. "Those wounds threaten to rip right back open if we do not strongly defend democracy in the United States of America."
On Friday, federal officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, US Capitol Police, and National Counterterrorism Center warned that the midterm elections will likely see an increase in threats, though the officials did not list specific threats, per CNN.
"Following the 2022 midterm election, perceptions of election-related fraud and dissatisfaction with electoral outcomes likely will result in heightened threats of violence against a broad range of targets―such as ideological opponents and election workers," the bulletin from the federal officials said, per CNN.
Ocasio-Cortez echoed the sentiment on MSNBC, citing her experience listening to testimonies while on the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
"There is absolutely no doubt that the data shows that the vast majority of incidents of domestic terror come from white nationalism," Ocasio-Cortez said while acknowledging that "political violence can come from all different parts of the political spectrum."
In Arizona, two nonprofits filed a lawsuit arguing that a group called Clean Elections USA was encouraging violence and intimidation after the group organized efforts to watch ballot drop boxes across the country in their attempt to prevent voter fraud, echoing similar claims that were rampant yet vastly disproven following the 2020 election, per The New York Times.
Judge Michael T. Liburdi argued that while "many voters are legitimately alarmed by the observers filming" near drop boxes, there was no evidence that the group had encouraged violence, per the Times. The judge did, however, opt to leave the case open and agreed to hear new evidence.
On MSNBC alongside Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Raskin said it is imperative that voters "show no fear."
"You've got to view the guy showing up in cammo gear and masks as part of that history as an attempt to discourage people from going out to vote," Raskin said. "It's really critical in this election that every voter understand all of the different ways that they can vote in their state and that they do vote and they show no fear."