USA TODAY
On Monday night Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a story about the trauma we knew about, and the one we didn't.
During an emotional Instagram Live which has now been viewed 3.6 million times, Ocasio-Cortez said the fear she experienced in the Capitol riot last month was amplified by a previous trauma she had never spoken about publicly: sexual assault.
Voice cracking, eyes tearing, hands clasped, she revealed she "hadn't told many people that in my life. But when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other."
After her harrowing account of how she hid from a violent mob on Jan. 6, Ocasio-Cortez received an outpouring of support from colleagues and other survivors who saw themselves in her story. But some critics derided her and claimed she was weaponizing trauma for political gain. Journalist Michael Tracey accused her of "emotional manipulation."