Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez invites woman who confronted Jeff Flake to State of the Union
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be attending her first State of the Union on Tuesday evening and is bringing, as her guest, the woman who confronted then-Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in a Capitol Hill elevator in September.
The freshman congresswoman teased her unexpected companion on Twitter Saturday afternoon, writing, “Y’all aren’t ready for NY-14’s #StateOfTheUnion guest!” On Monday, it was reported by the Intercept that Ana Maria Archila, who became known for a surprising confrontation with former Sen. Flake amid the debate surrounding Brett Kavanaugh‘s nomination to the Supreme Court, will be in attendance.
Y’all aren’t ready for NY-14’s #StateOfTheUnion guest!
Here’s a hint: I just picked up this gift for them at our very own Lockwood Shop in Jackson Heights 😉 pic.twitter.com/wSv23WmJ9k
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 2, 2019
Archila, who is the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, famously blocked the doors of the elevator Flake entered after he had announced his support for Kavanaugh. Both Archila and Maria Gallagher shared their stories of being sexually assaulted with the senator as a way to question his decision to confirm a man who had been accused of sexual assault as a teenager. Flake ultimately voted to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, but Archila is credited with delaying that decision.
“I just feel particularly moved that in her first participation in the State of the Union, she is inviting me to join and inviting that moment of the elevator, my confrontation with the men who do not understand the life of women and the lives of people who are not in power, that she’s inviting that into the imagination of people again,” Archila told the Intercept.
Ocasio-Cortez has since confirmed the news herself with a tweet on Monday morning.
I’m proud to announce that my #StateOfTheUnion guest will be @AnaMariaArchil2.
Ana Maria is the NY14-er who famously jumped into the elevator with Sen. Flake to elevate the stories of survivors everywhere.
She‘s living proof that the courage within all of us can change the 🌎. https://t.co/OLSeNbP4Z2
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 4, 2019
“She‘s living proof that the courage within all of us can change the [world],” Ocasio-Cortez wrote about her own N.Y.-14 constituent.
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