A Louisiana police officer has come under fire after suggesting US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot.
Writing on Facebook, Gretna police officer Charlie Rispoli wrote, ‘this vile idiot needs a round…. and I don’t mean the kind she used to serve’.
This would appear to be a reference to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s previous job as a bartender, a position opponents have previously brought up in a bid to belittle her political credentials.
Rispoli made these shocking remarks while sharing a piece of fake news via Facebook, an article which bore the fabricated headline, ‘Ocasio-Cortez on the Budget: ‘We Pay Soldiers Too Much’.
Fact checking resource Snopes.com have rated this news piece as ‘false’, explaining:
As of July 2019, Ocasio-Cortez has never said this, either in a session of Congress or in any other forum.
The source of the fabricated article, Taters Gonna Tate, is part of a network of sites and social media accounts operated by Christopher Blair, who produces a high volume of junk news and misinformation, much of it inflammatory, which he presents as “satire.”
Nola.com was the first outlet to report on this story, noting how Rispoli’s remarks come amidst increased scrutiny of racist, violent and misogynist social media posts made by police officers throughout the US.
Gretna Chief of Police Arthur Lawson has described the post as ‘disturbing’, telling Nola.com:
I will tell you this: This will not go unchecked.
I’m not going to take this lightly and this will be dealt with on our end. It’s not something we want someone that’s affiliated with our department to make these types of statements. That’s not going to happen.
Chief Lawson added this post appears to be in violation of the department’s social media policy, which has been read and signed by all officers:
Whether you agree or disagree with the message of these elected officials and how frustrated you may or may not get, this certainly is not the type of thing that a public servant should be posting.
In May, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about the violent and threatening messages she had received during her political career:
What people don’t (maybe do) realize is when orgs air these hateful messages, my life changes bc of the flood of death threats they inspire.
I‘ve had mornings where I wake up & the 1st thing I do w/my coffee is review photos of the men (it’s always men) who want to kill me.
The violent post by Rispoli comes after President Donald Trump made the following controversial series of tweets:
So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run.
Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!
It’s believed President Trump had aimed the tweet at congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez; four progressive politicians of colour sometimes referred to as ‘The Squad’.
This comment was made despite three out of the four democratic politicians in question having been born in the USA. All four women are American citizens.
Rispoli has since removed the post and deactivated his Facebook account.
UNILAD has reached out to the office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.