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Rep. Abigail Spanberger was concerned about possible violence in the days leading up to January 6, 2021.
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She warned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that she was “a very recognizable target,” a new book says.
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She urged the progressive legislator, “Wear sneakers, dress down — don’t look like you.”
A former intelligence officer, Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, was concerned about possible violence in the days leading up to January 6, 2021.
At the time, supporters of then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse the election planned to demonstrate outside the US Capitol that day as Congress performed a typically pro forma duty, certifying Joe Biden as the winner. of the 2020 presidential election.
Spanberger was concerned that fellow Democrats would be targeted, and she was particularly concerned about “highly recognizable progressive women,” including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others “demonized by the right,” according to a forthcoming book. “This Will Not Pass,” by New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin. Insider obtained an advance on the book ahead of its publication on Tuesday.
The Virginia Democrat called Ocasio-Cortez to urge her to take precautions, a remarkable gesture given the two women represent “the huge divide within the Democratic Party” between centrist and left-wing parties respectively, Burns and Martin wrote.
“You are a very recognizable target,” Spanberger told Ocasio-Cortez. “Drive to work and make sure to dress in a way that makes you less recognizable than you could be.”
“Wear sneakers, dress down — don’t look like you,” she told the authors.
Ocasio-Cortez later told CNN she feared she would be raped and killed on January 6 when pro-Trump insurgents broke through the U.S. Capitol in their failed efforts to reverse the election.
“White supremacy and patriarchy are very much linked in many ways,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s Dana Bash. “There’s a lot of sexualization of that violence, and I didn’t think I was just going to get killed. I thought other things would happen to me too.”
In an essay for The 19th, Spanberger gave a poignant account of how he had arrived at the Capitol that day and prepared.
“I expected it to be a day of heightened engagement, so I dressed accordingly, in slacks,” she said. “Old CIA mentality. If I needed to, I could be invisible just by taking off my blazer.”
She even joked with her husband in text messages that her hair was back in a ponytail, “which to me means I’m ready to fight.”
A Spanberger spokesperson told Insider the CIA background of the legislature “offers a unique perspective to Congress.”
In the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Rep. Spanberger was concerned about the potential for violence around the Capitol. She had talks with multiple colleagues about staying safe, in the event that the conspiracy theory-fueled ‘Stop the Steal’ rally dangerous,” the spokesman said in a statement, adding that the lawmaker extended the advice to “dress up” to its office workers.
“As the uprising unfolded on Jan. 6 and Rep. Spanberger was stranded in the House Gallery with other members, she continued to offer advice — such as calling on her colleagues to remove their congressional pins,” the spokesperson said.
An Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Read the original article on Business Insider
