NEW YORK — A pro-Palestinian protester disrupted a district hall event hosted by US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday in New York City, accusing her of failing to stop Israel’s “genocide in Gaza” and labeling her a “war criminal.”
The US lawmaker was holding a constituent event in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, when the anti-genocide interrupted her.
“I am a health care worker, and I want to know what you’re doing about the genocide in Gaza,” the female protester shouted as AOC spoke on stage, video showed.
“I’m a nurse! Shame on you! Shame on you, you’re a liar. You’re a liar!”
“You’re a war criminal! War criminal! War criminal!” she yelled as she exited, adding, “Shame on you, I used to support you!”
NOW: "You're a war criminal!" –
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) May 2, 2025
Pro-Palestine Heckler shouts as AOC holds Town Hall in Jackson Heights Queens, NYC. pic.twitter.com/92cE0ReYXD
“At least with the Republican Party we know what we are dealing with, you’re a snake,” she can be heard saying in another video.
Ocasio-Cortez responded with, “I more than welcome people who disagree, or are super pissed off at me for any issue to come, but we have some ground rules here.”
“Please wait for the Q&A because we don’t want to deprive all of our neighbors of the ability to have information and hearing them to respond to it,” the three-term congresswoman said, adding, “We need to be able to have this conversation.”
The protester has been identified as Jennifer Kings. Her social media account features several pro-Palestinian posts and videos.
Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most recognized names in Congress, had previously faced criticism from the left for failing to join many of her fellow progressives in accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
However, in March 2024, she finally called the Israeli war in Gaza an “unfolding genocide” in a scathing speech that demanded Biden suspend military aid to Israel.
While other American progressives – including congresswomen Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian – have used the term “genocide”, Ocasio-Cortez had refrained from doing so until her remarks in March.
In January, Ocasio-Cortez implied that she was waiting for the UN’s International Court of Justice to weigh in on the term, noting that “the fact that this word is even in play, the fact that this word is even in our discourse, I think, demonstrates the mass inhumanity that Gaza is facing”.
A group of pro-Palestije protesters confronted Ocasio-Cortez in March at a movie theater in Brooklyn, criticizing her for “refus[ing] to call it a genocide”.
C. QNN
