Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Legistorm
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s long-shot Republican opponent has labeled the left-wing lawmaker a “crime surge creator”—but in fact, the GOP candidate’s own family have been part of the uptick in illegal activity she has lamented.
A Snopes investigation earlier this year revealed that Tina Forte has a long history of flirting with the political right’s violent fringes: posting photos on social media of herself with the leader of the Proud Boys gang, sharing QAnon-flavored slogans, and even participating in events around Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 rally that culminated in the bloody rampage through the U.S. Capitol. But as a candidate for Congress, Forte has cast herself as a more conventional Republican, playing up her small business-owning background and appealing to fears of increasing crime rates, which she has blamed on bail laws that New York State liberalized after the progressive wave four years ago.
“AOC and her socialist allies have pushed for defunding our police and the disastrous ‘bail reform’ policies which have caused crime to skyrocket in New York,” Forte’s website asserts. “Tina and her husband started with a soda delivery route and went on to build their own beverage distribution company. Now, they’re not only creating jobs but empowering others to create their own businesses.”