Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was sharply criticized over the weekend following her claim that concern from people over the spike in crime rates across the country amounted to "hysteria."
During a conversation with Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., over Zoom, Ocasio-Cortez seemingly cast doubt over the data showing crime rates rising in cities throughout the U.S., especially in New York, where shooting incidents and murders have risen 53% and 13% since the beginning of the year.
"We are seeing these headlines about percentage increases," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Now, I want to say that any amount of harm is unacceptable and too much, but I also want to make sure that this hysteria, you know, that this doesn’t drive a hysteria and that we look at these numbers in context so that we can make responsible decisions about what to allocate in that context."
AOC DISMISSES CONCERN OVER CRIME SPIKES IN MAJOR CITIES AS ‘HYSTERIA’
The far-left "Squad" member was lambasted by critics on social media following the comments, with some calling them "shameful," and others mocking her for downplaying crime statistics while feeding into premonitions of the world ending due to climate change.
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Fox News contributor Joe Concha suggested that people living in Ocasio-Cortez's New York City congressional district "who are afraid to even put their kids outside" didn't concur with her statements.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted "ordinary people" didn't have the luxury of having private security to protect them, and "acted to ensure $2 billion more in spending on the police that protects her" by voting "present" on providing more funds to the Capitol Police.