The campaign office of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was vandalized with red paint, apparently by anti-Israel protestors, in the early hours of Monday, July 21.
NYPD responded to a 911 call reporting criminal mischief at 12:41 a.m. at the office, located just off the Zerega Avenue 6 train stop at 1371 Herschell St.
When the Bronx Times visited later that morning, large splashes of red paint covered the campaign poster near the door. Earlier news photos showed a sign reading “AOC funds genocide in Gaza” written in the same red paint, but it was apparently removed before the Bronx Times’ visit.
The vandalism came just days after AOC broke with several progressive colleagues to vote against a bill to cut Israel’s defense aid by $500 million.
Campaign Manager Oliver Hidalgo stopped by the office around 11:30 and opened the metal gates to survey the damage. He called the incident “unfortunate” but said no one was physically harmed.
However, Hidalgo said the congress member faces frequent death threats.
“We deal with a lot of very real security stuff,” he said.
In a statement later that day, Hidalgo said, “In the past few days, we also have received multiple threats on the Congresswoman’s life and we are treating this seriously with our security partners to make sure she, our staff and volunteers are safe.”
Queens US Rep. Grace Meng appeared at the celebration of the new ADA-accessible ramp at the Jackson Heights post office that her colleague AOC had planned to attend but did not. Meng said threats against lawmakers are an increasingly concerning issue that can have deadly consequences.
“We saw what happened in recent weeks with the tragedy that happened in Minnesota with … the former speaker of their house and her spouse, and what almost happened also to her colleague who was hurt on the same day,” said Meng at the appearance. She said that “it is okay to disagree, it is okay to protest, but it’s not okay to vandalize, and it’s not okay to make people feel like their their lives are at risk.”
Hidalgo said volunteers are planning to clean up the red paint and that he’s working with the building owner to see if exterior surveillance cameras captured any footage of the perpetrators.
The investigation remains ongoing and no arrests have been made, according to the NYPD.
This story was updated July 22 at 9:15 a.m.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
