Rep. Katie Porter recalls Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hiding in her office during the Capitol siege and saying, 'I hope I don't die today'

• Rep. Katie Porter discussed hiding with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during the Capitol siege.
• "I was saying: 'Well, don't worry, I'm a mom, I'm calm, I've got everything here we need — we could live for like a month in this office,'" Porter said Monday.
• Porter added: "And she said, 'I just hope I get to be a mom — I hope I don't die today.'"

Rep. Katie Porter of California recalled sheltering in her office with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as rioters broke into the US Capitol on January 6.

During an Instagram Live video on Monday, Ocasio-Cortez shared her harrowing experience as insurrectionists breached the building while Congress was in session. The congresswoman shared with viewers that she took refuge in Porter's office as she heard people yelling, "Where is she?"

"I start ripping through Katie's office like a madwoman," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Poor Katie, I'm opening every closet, I'm opening every nook, I'm opening every cranny looking for where I'm going to hide when they get into this office."

"I mean, I thought I was going to die," the congresswoman continued.

Porter corroborated Ocasio-Cortez's story during an interview with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, adding that the New York congresswoman was "really usually unfailingly polite and very personable" but in that moment "wasn't really even talking to me."

"She was opening up doors, and I was like: 'Can I help you? What are you looking for?'" the California congresswoman said. "And she said, 'I'm looking for where I'm going to hide.'"

Porter went on to describe two "powerful" conversations she had with Ocasio-Cortez.

"The two memories that really, especially as a mom, I think, were just really powerful for me, was when I was saying: 'Well, don't worry, I'm a mom, I'm calm, I've got everything here we need - we could live for like a month in this office,'" Porter said during the interview. "And she said, 'I just hope I get to be a mom - I hope I don't die today.'"

"And the second thing is she was wearing heels. I was wearing flats, and I remember her saying to me: 'I knew I shouldn't have worn heels. How am I going to run?'" Porter added. "And we went and we found her a pair of sneakers to wear from one of my staffers so that she could run if she needed to literally run for her life."

—MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 2, 2021