Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing pushback from conservatives across the South over rally remarks telling northerners to come down and confront red states.
Ocasio-Cortez spoke May 16 at the “All Roads Lead to The South” rally in Montgomery, the New York Post (NYP) reported. She called on progressives in northern states to head to Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi to push against what she labeled political injustice. Online afterward, she added, “If you’re not from these states, it’s time to pull up.”
Critics zeroed in on the optics. The congresswoman issued her call to action from behind bulletproof glass, the NYP reported, a setup conservatives mocked as inconsistent with her message of confrontation. (RELATED: …AOC Just Had Her Worst Case Of Historical Stupidity Yet)
Conservative podcaster Todd Spears posted a TikTok video that drew more than 1 million views. “Roll up and do what exactly? Because you’re standing behind, like, pope glass in your own hometown. You come down here starting that s—, you better bring a tank. That’s not a good idea. You stay where you’re at,” Spears said in the video.
AOC tells New Yorkers to ‘pull up’ to Alabama during fiery rally speech https://t.co/iTDAv6r5GV pic.twitter.com/v6wefT0hvt
— New York Post (@nypost) May 24, 2026
TikTok creator Kei Bennett brought in more than 900,000 views with her own reaction. “Down here in the South we don’t call cops, we call coroners,” Bennett said, telling the congresswoman’s followers, “Stay your a– up there, leave us alone. We ain’t bothering nobody.”
Thousands turned out at the Alabama State Capitol for the day-of-action event, the Alabama Political Reporter found. Organizers staged the rally in response to recent Supreme Court rulings and Republican redistricting plans that civil rights advocates argue weaken Black voting power, the outlet reported.
From the rally stage, Ocasio-Cortez warned Republicans against assuming the political map would stay in their favor, Ms. Magazine reported. “They think they can draw us out of power. They do not know the sleeping giant that they just awakened,” she said, according to the outlet.