AOC Claims Those Organized Smash and Grabs on Stores You're Seeing Aren't Real
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez often seems to be living on another planet with the takes that she frequently has.
But she had one this past week that was a truly mind-bending departure from reality.
AOC told the Washington Times that “a lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out.” “I believe it’s a Walgreens in California cited it, but the data didn’t back it up,” she said.
Now, she says this in the face of numerous videos and reports of smash and grabs in Democratic cities across the country, in particular a spurt of such criminal actions in California. So, it’s fantasy to deny them.
Republican lawmakers and retailers blasted AOC for denying the obvious.
“Organized retail crime is one of the top challenges facing” the company, Walgreens told The Washington Times, adding that the crime “has evolved beyond shoplifting and petty theft to the sale of stolen and counterfeit goods online.”
“I don’t know what data she is talking about,” said Rep. Rodney Davis, an Illinois Republican.
“But you don’t really need much data from someplace in San Francisco or California. All you need to do is walk down the street to the CVS in Eastern Market,” he said, referring to an area of Washington, D.C. near the Capitol. “I’ve seen on multiple occasions when I’ve been in there buying things, someone will come in and raid a shelf and walk out.” [….]
The Retail Industry Leaders Association also took issue with her remarks in a comment to The Washington Times.
“Respectfully, the Congresswoman has no idea what she is talking about. Both the data and stack of video evidence makes fairly clear that this is a growing problem in need of solutions,” Jason Brewer, RILA senior executive vice president of communications said in an email. “If she is not concerned with organized theft and increasingly violent attacks on retail employees, she should just say that.”
On top of all that, the organized smash and grabs in California turned deadly at the end of last month; security guard Kevin Nishita was killed when he was protecting a tv crew covering a smash and grab in Oakland. A group tried to rob the tv crew and shot Nishita in the process. His death — and the incalculable loss to his family — is very real. He leaves behind a wife, two children, and three grandchildren. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said that AOC’s claims were “tone-deaf and offensive” to Nishita’s family.
There were 14 arrests made in the 11 “flash mob” smash and grabs that were committed in Los Angeles in the past month, but LAPD police chief Michael Moore said that all of the people are out of custody because of the “zero-bail” criteria in California.
Another aspect in California is Proposition 47. Proposition 47 reduced shoplifting charges regarding the theft of $950 or less, making them misdemeanors rather than felonies, thus reducing the punishment that criminals could receive for such offenses. When there’s no real punishment, then there’s no stopping some of the criminals from committing such crimes, especially if they’re just going to be let go without any bail.
That’s where you get to why AOC doesn’t want to see this as a real thing. Because she’s in favor of such radical bail reform and letting people out. But it’s one thing to spin that she doesn’t want punishment for criminal actions and another thing again to just deny such things are occurring. This is where we are left with Democrats now — complete denial of reality.
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