Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Thursday she feels “threatened” by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) following an encounter they had the day before on the steps of the Capitol.
Greene said at a press conference that Bowman has a “history of aggression” toward her and others that she is “very concerned” about.
In response, Bowman slammed Greene’s latest remarks, calling them “reckless” and “dangerous.”
He said she is “not even using a dog whistle” but a “bullhorn to put a target on my back.” He said this type of language is the reason for the killing of Black Americans, such as Emmett Till in 1955 and Michael Brown in 2014.
Greene said Bowman approached her outside the Capitol, leading to their well-publicized argument.
“Yelling, shouting, raising his voice. He has aggressive — his physical mannerisms are aggressive,” she said.
“I think there’s a lot of concern about Jamaal Bowman, and I am concerned about it. I feel threatened by him,” Greene added.
The exchange happened after Bowman and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) interrupted Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) responding to questions from reporters. Earlier in the day, the House referred a resolution to expel Santos to the Ethics Committee following the federal indictment filed against him, with the move in effect delaying a decision on whether he should be removed from Congress.
After Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez yelled that Santos should not still be in office, Bowman and Greene had a heated exchange in which he said the GOP is “hanging on by a thread.” He told her she needs to save the party with “no more QAnon, no more MAGA, no more debt ceiling nonsense.”
Greene responded by chanting “impeach Biden.” Bowman told her the party needs to “do something about guns,” and Greene said, “Right, so close the border.”
Greene said on Thursday that Bowman led a “mob” when she went to New York to protest the indictment of former President Trump on felony charges of falsifying business records.
She said Bowman shouted “at the top of his lungs,” cursed at her and called her a white supremacist, to which she said she takes “great offense.”
“That is like calling a person of color the N-word, which should never happen,” she said. “Calling me a white supremacist is equal to that, and that is wrong.”
Greene also said she was “swarmed” and feared for her life.
Bowman said Greene was relying on historic racist tropes in her remarks that have led to the killings of Black men.
“Throughout history, Black men have continually been characterized as aggressive because, one, of our skin color, but two, because we happen to be outspoken and passionate about certain issues,” he said.
Bowman said he never invaded Greene’s personal space during their interaction and was laughing during the exchange.
“Anyone who has interacted with me, anyone who knows me, any reporters here know I’m middle school principal energy. I’m teacher energy. I’m always loving and engaging and friendly, except when kids are being killed in our streets. Everyone should be outraged about that,” he said.
This story was updated at 1:59 p.m.