Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign office in the Bronx was vandalized early on the morning of July 21, with red paint and a sign accusing her of funding genocide in Gaza, as the New York congresswoman faces mounting threats and criticism from both political opponents and progressive activists.
According to campaign manager Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, the office was defaced around 12:40 a.m. with a message reading “AOC funds genocide in Gaza” posted outside and red paint splashed across the building’s face and windows. The congresswoman’s team confirmed the incident and reported receiving multiple recent death threats, prompting the cancellation of scheduled events and increased coordination with security officials.
“In the past few days, we have received multiple threats on the Congresswoman’s life,” Hidalgo-Wohlleben wrote on social media. “We are treating this seriously with our security partners to make sure she, our staff, and volunteers are safe.”
The New York Police Department is investigating the vandalism. No arrests have been made, but surveillance footage from inside and outside the building is being reviewed, according to local law enforcement and campaign officials.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has long been a lightning rod for conservative criticism, is now also facing backlash from some on the political left. The latest wave of hostility was triggered by her vote last Friday against a Republican-sponsored amendment to the defense appropriations bill. Introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the amendment would have stripped funding from Israel’s Iron Dome and other missile defense programs. While Ocasio-Cortez voted against the amendment, she ultimately opposed the full defense bill.
Her opposition to the amendment sparked outrage among progressive groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America, who accused the congresswoman of contradicting her own statements about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. “The fact that Representative Ocasio-Cortez acknowledges that Israel is carrying out this genocide makes her support for military aid all the more disappointing,” the DSA said in a statement.
Ocasio-Cortez defended her decision on social media, calling the amendment “deeply cynical” and warning that cutting defensive aid without altering broader military support would do little to stop the violence. “I remain focused on cutting the flow of U.S. munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza,” she wrote.
Despite her longstanding criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza—including labeling the campaign a genocide—her nuanced position has provoked frustration from both critics of Israeli policy and defenders of U.S. military aid.
As investigators work to identify those responsible for the threats and vandalism, the incident has renewed concerns over the safety of public officials amid increasingly volatile political discourse. Volunteers have begun helping clean up the Bronx campaign office, but the congresswoman’s team says their top priority remains ensuring the safety of everyone involved.
