Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is facing criticism after she was caught on video appearing to kick a teen gun control activist outside the United States Capitol building.
18-year-old Marianna Pecora, the communications director for the Gen Z advocacy group Voters of Tomorrow, and Santiago Mayer, the organization's founder, confronted Greene about gun violence, taking her to task for refusing to support comprehensive gun control amid a spate of high profile mass shootings.
Video of the confrontation was posted to Greene's official Twitter account after she complained about "foolish cowards" who "want the government to take away guns and the rights of parents to defend their children in schools."
At one point in the video, Greene made a motion with her leg. Pecora stumbled forward as Greene’s communications director Nick Dyer warned her that she "can't block members of Congress."
You can see Greene's post below.
\u201cThese foolish cowards want the government to take away guns & the rights of parents to defend their children in schools.\n\nYou have to be an idiot to think gun control will create a utopian society where criminals disarm themselves and obey the law.\n\n\u201cGun-free\u201d zones kill people.\u201d— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1663278596
Pecora also posted footage of the encounter, which shows Greene's motion from another angle, to her own Twitter account, noting that Greene "just kicked me."
\u201cMy name is Marianna Pecora, I\u2019m the Deputy Communications Director @VotersTomorrow and @RepMTG just kicked me.\u201d— Marianna Pecora (@Marianna Pecora) 1663278009
Pecora later responded to Greene's tweet, saying that it is not unreasonable "to expect members of Congress to not kick an 18 year old citizen."
\u201cI\u2019m so sorry but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s unreasonable to expect members of Congress to not kick an 18 year old citizen.\n\ncc: @RepMTG\u201d— Marianna Pecora (@Marianna Pecora) 1663278670
Some people encouraged Voters of Tomorrow to file charges against Greene.
\u201cHere\u2019s a US Congresswoman, @RepMTG, childishly kicking another woman. Before this she told a father to move to another country if he doesn\u2019t want kids shot in school. Georgia, enough is enough, vote this violence out. #LockHerUp #GunViolence #GA14\u201d— GTinNC (@GTinNC) 1663321843
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene has never had capacity to be an elected leader of any community \n\nThis little stunt was beyond childish & was a clear & directed physical assault of a citizen\n\nCapitol Police or precinct where this occurred should arrest her \n\nShe should also be censured\u201d— JustCallMeAri \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@JustCallMeAri \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1663334351
\u201cYep, I saw she tried to trip you! Let\u2019s give Marianna more follows and hope she does what MTG would do\u2014sue her!\u201d— abastello2 Call me Andi \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a#DemocracyWarrior (@abastello2 Call me Andi \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a#DemocracyWarrior) 1663338127
\u201cAt the 1:20 mark of this video a sitting congessmember actually kicked a voter. It'd be nice if she was eventually held accountable for something\u201d— Dr. Jason Johnson (@Dr. Jason Johnson) 1663342298
\u201cAssault doesn\u2019t make one brave, either by gun or by kick Marj. I hope she files charges\u201d— \ud835\udcdc\ud835\udcb6\u0455\u049c'\ud835\udcb9_\u24d5\ud835\udd3c\uff4d (@\ud835\udcdc\ud835\udcb6\u0455\u049c'\ud835\udcb9_\u24d5\ud835\udd3c\uff4d) 1663288622
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene is calling people \u201cfoolish cowards\u201d when she literally uploaded a video of herself kicking @MariannaPecora.\n\nI believe the police call this \u201cevidence of assault.\u201d\n\nNice job you \u201cfoolish coward.\u201d\u201d— The Jewish Ginger Resister (@The Jewish Ginger Resister) 1663294912
\u201cMarjorie Taylor Greene just physically assaulted a young woman by kicking her while walking behind her. I hope charges are filed against her immediately @CapitolPolice @DCPoliceDept\u201d— Tara Dublin (@Tara Dublin) 1663286867
Mayer later told The Washington Post that he and Pecora have not yet discussed whether they'll press charges against Greene, adding that Pecora was fine, if somewhat shaken by the experience.
Pecora told reporters that it's "really disheartening to think that a bunch of kids can hold themselves with better composure than a sitting member of Congress."
She said that Voters of Tomorrow had brought their concerns to members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and that Greene was the only one who had not "taken us seriously and had, like, really productive conversations with us."
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