WASHINGTON — Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush said she was berated by Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. But the Georgia representative said she has the video to prove otherwise.
On Friday, Rep. Bush tweeted that she is moving her office location after a “maskless Marjorie Taylor Greene & her staff berated me in a hallway.” Bush said they were targeted on social media, and that moving her office is for the safety of her team.
Bush further explained what she said happened in a statement emailed to 5 On Your Side Friday afternoon. In it, she said the incident happened on Jan. 13 while she was walking in the tunnel between the Cannon Office Building and the Capitol. She said Rep. Greene came up from behind her “ranting loudly into her phone while not wearing a mask.” Bush added that this happened a day after several House lawmakers tested positive for COVID-19 after “being in a room with Taylor Greene during the white supremacist attack on the Capitol.”
Bush said she called out to Greene to put on her mask and that the Georgia congresswoman’s staff replied by yelling, “Stop inciting violence with Black Lives Matter.”
The new Missouri congresswoman said Greene also has “lashed out” at her on Twitter over the protest that made the McCloskeys a national name, which made her a target of the Republican congresswoman’s followers. Bush said for all of those reasons she was moving her office away from Greene’s "for the safety of my team."
Greene responded on Twitter Friday afternoon, sharing video of the encounter and saying she caught Bush “in a lie.”
“It’s all on video! You instigated and attacked me, not the other way around. You got caught in a lie. You support and encourage BLM domestic terror. You led a mob to threaten the lives of the McCloskey’s. Stop playing the victim, Rep. @CoriBush,” Greene tweeted.
The video shows Greene recording herself talking about the Capitol riots and previous protests when a voice is heard off camera saying, “Follow the rules and put on a mask.” At that point, Greene moves her mask from her chin to over her mouth and nose. Someone off camera can be heard replying, “Stop inciting violence with Black Lives Matter.”
Loud exchanges between the two parties continued for several seconds.
Greene's office sent 5 On Your Side a statement that says, in part, the encounter happened during a Facebook live and "proves that Rep. Bush instigated the incident and caused a scene."
Greene has drawn fire from Democrats and some Republicans for past social media posts reported by various news organizations in which she’s suggested support for killing Democratic politicians, unfounded QAnon theories and racist views. That’s also why her Twitter account was briefly suspended earlier this month.
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Full statement from Rep. Cori Bush:
On January 13, I was walking with my staff to vote. I was in the tunnel between the Cannon Office Building and the Capitol when Marjorie Taylor Greene came up from behind me, ranting loudly into her phone while not wearing a mask. This took place one day after multiple of my House colleagues announced they had tested positive for COVID-19 after being in a room with Taylor Greene during the white supremacist attack on the Capitol.
Out of concern for the health of my staff, other members of Congress, and their congressional staff, I repeatedly called out to her to put on a mask. Taylor Greene and her staff responded by berating me, with one staffer yelling, “Stop inciting violence with Black Lives Matter.”
Previously, Taylor Greene lashed out at me on Twitter on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to falsely accuse me of leading a mob that called for “the rape, murder, and burning of the home” of the McCloskey family in St. Louis — thus naming me as a target to her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers.
In the context of Taylor Greene’s repeated endorsements of executing Democratic politicians before taking office, Taylor Greene’s renewed, repeated antagonization of the movement for Black lives in the last month directed towards me personally is cause for serious concern.
All of this led to my decision to move my office away from Taylor Greene’s for the safety of my team. My office is currently being relocated from the Longworth House Office Building.
I will discuss Taylor Greene’s unacceptable behavior and the need for accountability at the top of MSNBC’s the ReidOut with Joy Reid at 7 PM EST.
Full statement from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene:
Today, Rep. Cori Bush lied to the American people about an incident Rep. Bush instigated in the Cannon Tunnel on January 13, 2021. Congresswoman Greene was live on Facebook while heading to the House floor to vote against the sham impeachment of President Trump, when Rep. Bush screamed at the top of her lungs to berate Congresswoman Greene for not complying with hypocritical COVID rules implemented by Speaker Pelosi. As you know, Speaker Pelosi previously brought COVID positive Democrats onto the House floor to vote.
The entire incident was captured on video and proves that Rep. Bush instigated the incident and caused a scene. Congresswoman Greene was talking to her 100,000+ Facebook followers when Rep. Bush decided to verbally assault Congresswoman Greene. After Rep. Bush's booming verbal abuse, Congresswoman Greene tells her not to "yell at people." Rep. Bush ignored that and continued yelling. It's unfortunate that Democrats have created such a hostile work environment. Congresswoman Greene was simply pointing out Democrat behavior on display in the House of Hypocrites, when Rep. Bush chose to attack.
Unfortunately for Rep. Bush, her statement is simply false and proven by the video.
Congresswoman Greene issued the following statement:
"Rep. Cori Bush is the leader of the St. Louis Black Lives Matter terrorist mob who trespassed into a gated neighborhood to threaten the lives of the McCloskey's. She is lying to you. She berated me. Maybe Rep. Bush didn't realize I was live on video, but I have the receipts."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.