New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman on Thursday accused Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of using “white supremacist” tactics in an effort to “dehumanize” him when she told reporters that she feels “threatened” by the black congressman.
The accusations were leveled a day after the two House colleagues got into a shouting match on the steps of the Capitol Building after Bowman (D-NY) appeared to approach Greene and loudly demand that Republicans “expel” Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to “save the party.”
“On the Capitol steps yesterday, he was the one that approached me … yelling, shouting, raising his voice. He was aggressive – his physical mannerisms are aggressive,” Greene said of Bowman at a press conference on Thursday.
The Georgia Republican then accused Bowman of “shoving” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) earlier this year during a similar impromptu debate that took place outside the House chamber.
“I think there’s a lot of concern about Jamaal Bowman. So, and, I am concerned about it. I feel threatened by him,” Greene said, adding that “he’s someone that people should watch.”
Bowman took issue with Greene’s characterization of their encounter and accused her of playing on racist tropes that have now put a “target” on his back.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene at her press conference this morning said something incredibly dangerous and incredibly reckless about me, talking about my demeanor as being aggressive and saying that she feels intimidated by me,” said Bowman.
”Unfortunately, this country has a history of characterizing black men who are outspoken, who stand their ground and who push back as being threatening or intimidating. So, she’s not even using a dog whistle. She’s using a bullhorn to put a target on my back to the people that she refers to as MAGA people out there who might want to cause harm.”
Bowman argued that the same sort of rhetoric is why “Mike Brown was killed” and why “Emmett Till was killed.”
“Throughout history, black men have continued to be characterized as aggressive because, one, of our skin color, but two, because we happen to be outspoken and passionate about certain issues,” he said.
“I never invaded her personal space,” Bowman said of Wednesday’s incident. “I was laughing and gregarious the entire time. How was that intimidating? What was intimidating about that?”
“She knows what she’s doing when she does that. And unfortunately, white supremacists, historically, this is what they do. They try to dehumanize black people, black skin and the black humanity so that they can be, you know, more likely to be targeted for harm,” Bowman claimed.
The argument between the two outside the Capitol ended when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tapped Bowman on the shoulder and told him,“She ain’t worth it, bro.”
During her press conference Thursday, Greene also accused Bowman of leading a “mob” up to her car when she was in Manhattan protesting the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“I was swarmed. It’s all on video. Everyone can see this, but I will tell you what’s on video is Jamaal Bowman shouting at the top of his lungs, cursing, calling me a horrible name, calling me a white supremacist, which I take great offense to. It’s like calling a person of color the N-word, which should never happen. Calling me a white supremacist is equal to that and that is wrong,” she claimed.