Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., took heat on social media for smearing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito while going after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., over an X post.
The congresswoman from the Bronx slammed Greene’s upside-down American flag post that she shared in reaction to former President Donald Trump’s New York trial conviction. Ocasio-Cortez wondered if Alito inspired Greene's statement.
"Who did you learn that from, Samuel Alito?" the lawmaker commented on Greene’s post on Thursday.
Greene had shared the image after Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records, as a way of characterizing the verdict as an injustice of the American rule of law.
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The upside-down flag had become controversial in recent weeks after The New York Times reported that it had been flying at Alito’s Virginia home around the time of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The Times piece attempted to use the flag to link Alito to pro-Trump election deniers, describing it as a symbol adopted by some Trump supporters disputing the results of the 2020 presidential election.
However, the Washington Post seemed to shoot down the Times' narrative, noting, "The Post decided not to report on the episode at the time because the flag-raising appeared to be the work of Martha-Ann Alito, rather than the justice, and connected to a dispute with her neighbors, a Post spokeswoman said. It was not clear then that the argument was rooted in politics, the spokeswoman said."
"I was not even aware of the upside-down flag until it was called to my attention. As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused," Alito said of the incident in a letter to Democratic Party lawmakers who called on him to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and Jan. 6.
Ocasio-Cortez even called for a government investigation into Alito over the flag, saying in an MSNBC interview last week, "Samuel Alito has identified himself with the same people who raided the Capitol on Jan. 6, and is now going to be presiding over court cases that have deep implications over the participants of that rally."
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Ocasio-Cortez’s dig was clearly ridiculing this controversy, though conservatives on X didn’t find it so funny.
Conservative activist Brigitte Gabriel blasted the lawmaker, stating, "Your district is disgusting. Get off your phone and pick up some trash."
Conservative talk show how Joe Pagliarulo asked, "Why don't you debate her instead of hiding behind social media. You literally work in the same place. Can I get a gin and tonic please?"
Lawyer and political commentator Joseph McBride shared images of the flag used by Native Americans, stating, "She learned it from Native Americans, you communist wench."
Conservative commentator Paul Szypula shared a clip of the lawmaker arguing with Hunter Biden’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski during a Congressional hearing. He commented, "AOC doesn’t even know what RICO is. She’s the last person who should use the word ‘learn.’"
Popular conservative X account "Three Year Letterman" joked, "That’s Senator Alito to you."
The Conservative account "End Wokeness" replied with a Babylon Bee article mocking the congresswoman with the headline, "AOC Demands To Know Where Alito Bought An Upside-Down U.S. Flag."
