We doubt Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez would ever lower herself to shop at Target or Walgreens, but for those of us not shopping for “Tax the Rich” designer couture gowns we have witnessed an alarming increase in violent “smash-and-grab” robberies. Dozens of recent videos have surfaced showing crime mobs ransacking retail stores such as Apple, Wal-Mart, and CVS. Some of the incidents led to violent encounters with retail staff and store security officers.
AOC’s response? “We have to talk about specifics because, for example, we’re actually seeing a lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are not actually panning out. I believe it’s a Walgreen’s in California cited it, but the data didn’t back it up.”
We have no earthly idea what “data” AOC is referring to, but we’d love her to present her evidence to the family of Oakland security guard Kevin Nishita who was murdered in November while defending a news crew reporting on a smash-and-grab crime.
A spokesman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association put it best: “If AOC is not concerned with organized theft and increasingly violent attacks on retail employees, she should just say that.” We agree.
