Roy, whose district includes San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, on Thursday sent a letter demanding that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, apologize for a Twitter tongue-lashing she gave to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
In the letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, Roy said if Ocasio-Cortez doesn't "apologize immediately, we will be forced to find alternative means to condemn this regrettable statement." Then, after making the thinly veiled threat, Roy added that he hopes Congress can "stop this heightened rhetoric."
The tweet in question was Ocasio-Cortez's accusation Wednesday that Cruz "almost had me murdered three weeks ago." Her statement clearly referenced Cruz's repeated false claims that President Joe Biden was fraudulently elected — a key grievance of the pro-Trump mob that staged the deadly January 6 Capitol insurrection.
At least one participant in the attack made an online death threat against Ocasio-Cortez, and she's said she faced a "close encounter" with the rioters.
The letter is par for the course for Roy, who's engaged in political stunts such as likening pandemic stay-at-home orders to "Nazi Germany," holding up a disaster relief bill for Texas communities to make a political point and holding a border security roundtable at which far-right propaganda outlet Breitbart News was the only invited "media."
After Politico writer Olivia Beavers shared Roy's letter on Twitter, other users wasted no time in pointing out the congressman's missive wasn't exactly the sort of thing that turns down the rhetorical heat. Others hinted that that Roy's outrage is misdirected, considering Republican U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert seem intent on setting a new low bar for civil discourse.
So Chip Roy that is the only tweet we are going to discuss? I mean I have other tweets here that might need some discussion. pic.twitter.com/GUNopPuKcW
— 🍷Misty Marie📚 (@mistymarie34) January 29, 2021
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets death threats in part because of things that Ted Cruz has said and done
— Adam Cohen Lawyers for Good Government #DemCast (@axidentaliberal) January 29, 2021
Marjorie Taylor Greene MAKES death threats against @SpeakerPelosi and other members of Congress
So who does Republican Chip Roy criticize?
Yep https://t.co/jYPa4cOibR
Ocasio-Cortez's House colleague Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, didn't mince words in her response. "Hypocrite foul mouth @chiproytx wants zero accountability for @tedcruz who encouraged the violent insurrection but wants @AOC to apologize," she tweeted on Friday. "Miss me with your phony moral outrage."
Hypocrite foul mouth @chiproytx wants zero accountability for @tedcruz who encouraged the violent insurrection but wants @AOC to apologize.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 29, 2021
Miss me with your phony moral outrage.
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