AOC Calls for Expulsion of Any Members of Congress Involved in Planning January 6 Riot

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called for the expulsion of any member of Congress who helped plan the storming of the U.S. Capitol after a bombshell report alleged that several Republican lawmakers had co-ordinated with rally organizers.

"Any member of Congress who helped plot a terrorist attack on our nation's capitol must be expelled," the New York congresswoman wrote in a tweet late on Sunday night.

Her comment came after a Rolling Stone report, published on Sunday night, claimed multiple members of Congress had been "intimately involved" in the planning of former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss and the January 6 protests, which culminated in the violence at the U.S. Capitol.

Rolling Stone cited two anonymous sources, both involved in planning pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" rallies after the 2020 election, who said they had communicated with several Republican members of Congress or their senior staffers, as well as members of Trump's team, ahead of January 6.

The report identified the members of Congress who allegedly took part in these conversations or were represented by senior staffers as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Andy Biggs and Louie Gohmert.

Both sources alleged that Rep. Gosar of Arizona also encouraged them to plan protests by offering a "blanket pardon" in an unrelated investigation.

Nick Dyer, Greene's spokesperson, told Newsweek that her involvement was solely to do with planning to object to the certification of Joe Biden's election victory on the House floor. She "had nothing to do with planning of any protest," he added.

Newsweek has contacted representatives for Ocasio-Cortez and the other lawmakers mentioned in this article for comment.

According to Rolling Stone, the two sources and a third person who was involved in the largest rally on January 6 have started communicating with a House committee investigating the Capitol riots.

The report prompted Ocasio-Cortez, who has spoken of fearing for her life as she hid in a bathroom after the rioters breached the Capitol building, to tweet that the people responsible "remain a danger to our democracy."

She tweeted: "This was a terror attack. 138 injured, almost 10 dead. Those responsible remain a danger to our democracy, our country, and human life in the vicinity of our Capitol and beyond."

Other House Democrats have joined her in calling for any lawmakers involved in the planning of the January 6 attack to be expelled from Congress.

"Any Member of Congress who plotted with Jan. 6 terrorists must be removed from Congress," tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell of California.

Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island added: "Any Member who had knowledge of or helped plan the January 6 attack on the Capitol needs to be immediately expelled from Congress. They cannot be trusted with the future of our democracy and country."

Update at 12.15 p.m. ET on 10/25/21: This article has been updated with a comment from Marjorie Taylor Greene's spokesperson.