Now that she’s been kicked off of all of her House committees, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has plenty of time on her hands to do what she seems to consider her most important and perhaps only job in Congress—being a nasty, violent little troll. It’s the skill, after all, that led to her ascension into Congress, and that has helped her haul in millions of dollars in donations. Why would she stop the grift now?
The latest incident: on Wednesday evening, Greene ran after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is her coworker, all the while shouting filth her way in their place of work. Does Congress have an HR department?
Via the Washington Post, whose reporters witnessed Greene’s attempt to rile Ocasio-Cortez up:
Two Washington Post reporters witnessed Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) exit the House chamber late Wednesday afternoon ahead of Greene (Ga.), who shouted “Hey Alexandria” twice in an effort to get her attention. When Ocasio-Cortez did not stop walking, Greene picked up her pace and began shouting at her and asking why she supports antifa, a loosely knit group of far-left activists, and Black Lives Matter, falsely labeling them “terrorist” groups. Greene also shouted that Ocasio-Cortez was failing to defend her “radical socialist” beliefs by declining to publicly debate the freshman from Georgia.
“You don’t care about the American people,” Greene shouted. “Why do you support terrorists and antifa?”
Ocasio-Cortez is well-versed in how to deal with trolls by this point; according to the Post, she “did not stop to answer Greene, only turning around once and throwing her hands in the air in an exasperated motion.”
But she did issue a statement in which she called for House leaders and the House’s Sergeant at Arms to take “real steps to make Congress a safe, civil place.” Again, via the Washington Post:
“Representative Greene tried to begin an argument with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and when Rep. Ocasio-Cortez tried to walk away, Congresswoman Greene began screaming and called Rep. Ocasio-Cortez a terrorist sympathizer,” Ocasio-Cortez spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said in a statement. “We hope leadership and the Sergeant at Arms will take real steps to make Congress a safe, civil place for all Members and staff — especially as many offices are discussing reopening. One Member has already been forced to relocate her office due to Congresswoman Greene’s attacks.”
One of my deeply held beliefs is that trolls like Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose sustaining life force is attention, should be ignored in an attempt to deprive them of the oxygen they depend upon. But to do so also ignores the very real danger Greene represents and is encouraging. It’s safe to say that Greene’s targeting of not only Ocasio-Cortez but the other members of the Squad—whom she’s taken lately to calling the “Jihad Squad”—as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has played a role in directing violent threats their way. According to the Capitol Police, threats against members of Congress have more than doubled this year when compared to 2020.
The Capitol Police argues that they need more funding and cops, including a beefed-up threat assessment and counter-surveillance team, to investigate these threats. But perhaps the most effective step would be to deal with the source coming from inside the house.