Republican Rep. Ted Yoho reportedly called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a 'f---ing b----' on the Capitol steps

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) leaves the U.S. Capitol after passage of the stimulus bill known as the CARES Act on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaving the Capitol on March 27.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

  • GOP Rep. Ted Yoho verbally attacked Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez outside the Capitol on Monday after she said crime had risen in New York City because of poverty and unemployment.

  • "You are out of your freaking mind," Yoho said, according to The Hill. He also reportedly called her a "f---ing b----."

  • Ocasio-Cortez called Yoho's attacks "disgusting" and described them as "virulent harassment." She also accused GOP Rep. Roger Williams, who saw the encounter and said he ignored it, of lying about his involvement.

  • "What's wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange? You were yelling at me too, about 'throwing urine,'" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

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Republican Rep. Ted Yoho verbally attacked Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the steps of the Capitol on Monday after she said crime had risen in New York City during the pandemic because of poverty and unemployment, The Hill first reported on Tuesday.

"You are out of your freaking mind," Yoho, who's retiring from his Florida seat this year after four terms, reportedly told his colleague.

The Bronx native called Yoho "rude" before walking into the building to cast a vote, The Hill reported. As Yoho walked away from Ocasio-Cortez and down the Capitol steps with GOP Rep. Roger Williams, he reportedly said, "F---ing b----."

Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill she'd never been treated that way by a colleague before.

"That kind of confrontation hasn't ever happened to me — ever," she said. "I've never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me."

Williams told The Hill that he'd ignored the conversation and didn't even know what it was about.

"I was actually thinking, as I was walking down the stairs, I was thinking about some issues I've got in my district that need to get done," Williams said. "I don't know what their topic was. There's always a topic, isn't there?"

Responding to The Hill's report in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez accused Williams of lying about his involvement in the interaction and said she'd never talked with Yoho before Monday.

"I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nation's Capitol yesterday," she tweeted. "Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door. But hey, 'b*tches' get stuff done.

"Gotta love Republican courage from Rep @RogerWilliamsTX: when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing. (He's lying, by the way. He joined in w/ Yoho)," she wrote, adding, "What's wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange? You were yelling at me too, about 'throwing urine.'"

Later Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez told Yahoo News that Yoho approached and berated her without warning.

"Out of nowhere, Yoho comes up to me and puts his finger in my face and flies off in a rage," she said. "He started going off about shootings and bread and nonsense, calling me crazy, shameful, out of my mind, etc."

She added that Williams began yelling at her and said something about "throwing urine," but she said she didn't know what he meant by it.

She said she told Yoho that "he was being rude and that this was unbelievable" and started walking away.

"He said, 'I'M RUDE? You're calling ME rude?!' And I just kept walking to my vote," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez said that she heard Yoho "muttering insults" at her as she walked away but that she didn't hear him curse at her.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told NBC News that he would meet with Yoho on Tuesday to discuss the incident.

Read the original article on Business Insider