Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says U.S. facing “environment of fascism” ahead of 2022 midterms

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in an interview with MSNBC Friday that the United States is “facing an environment of fascism” similar to the days of Jim Crow in the leadup to the 2022 midterms.

The big picture: Federal officials at the Department of Homeland Security and FBI have warned of a “heightened threat” ahead of the midterm elections charged by violent extremism, CBS News reports.

What they’re saying: “We are really truly facing an environment of fascism in the United States of America. This type of intimidation at the polls brings us to Jim Crow,” Ocasio-Cortez told MSNBC about reports of intimidation at Arizona ballot boxes.

• “It brings us back and harkens back to a very unique form of American apartheid that is not that long past ago,” she added. “And we have never fully healed from it and those wounds threaten to rip right back open if we do not strongly defend democracy in the United States of America.”

State of play: Officials at the DHS, FBI, U.S. Capitol Police and National Counterterrorism Center released a bulletin Friday that said domestic violent extremists pose a threat of violence for the 2022 midterms and the days after, CNN reports.

• “Following the 2022 midterm election, perceptions of election-related fraud and dissatisfaction with electoral outcomes likely will result in heightened threats of violence against a broad range of targets ― such as ideological opponents and election workers,” the bulletin reads.
• The bulletin also warned that these extremists may target state and local government buildings after the election, according to CBS.

Worth noting: The bulletin was issued on the same day as the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.

Go deeper: Pelosi attack stokes Congress’ fears: “Somebody is going to die”