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Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York appeared to offer a justification for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Ocasio-Cortez said she was not justifying the shooting death but then offered an explanation that sounded very sympathetic to many. She made the comments while speaking to reporters from the steps of the Capitol on Thursday.

‘They need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them.’

“This collective American experience, which is so twisted to have in the wealthiest nation in the world, all of that pain that people experience is being concentrated on this event,” said Ocasio-Cortez.

“And it’s really important that we take a step back. This is not to comment, and this is not to say that an act of violence is justified, but I think for anyone who is confused or shocked or appalled, they need to understand that people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them,” she added.

“People go homeless over the financial devastation of a diagnosis that doesn’t get addressed, or the amount that they’re gonna have to cover with a surprise bill,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “And we kind of talk about how systems are violent in this country, in this passive way. Our privatized health care system is like that for a huge amount of Americans.”

She went on to say that she had to go without health insurance before she was elected to Congress and had to sit at a free clinic to wait for help.

Many were alarmed at her comments and repudiated her on social media.

“Gets pretty freaky when you realize how long the list is for ‘things lefties experience as violence,'” said commentator Mary Katharine Ham.

“I’m shocked that an apologist for Hamas would be an apologist for a citizen execution. There is a strain on the far left that runs from the Reign of Terror that worships violence,” replied Philip Klein of National Review.

“Grotesque. What if some deranged person decides AOC’s words or votes are ‘acts of violence’? Would we get a ‘but’ if he took a shot at her? Reject this,” said Fox News contributor Guy Benson.

“I’m not justifying violence, but this particular violence had a rationale I can completely understand and will expound upon at length,” said writer Noah Rothman.

Ocasio-Cortez has been increasingly criticized by the far-left activists who helped her gain office after she has taken steps to take more centrist liberal positions. Recently she announced her intention to seek a top seat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, spurring more criticism that she had abandoned the far left.

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