Oregon GOP militia tweet draws response from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, others

As Oregon Senate Republicans continued to boycott the Legislature Sunday in an attempt to block a vote on House Bill 2020, a climate change bill, things got testy on Twitter.

The dust up started on Saturday evening when the official Twitter account of the Oregon GOP tweeted out a picture of protesters at the capitol with the caption, “Heavily armed militia lays siege to Oregon’s Capitol as Senate Democrats cower in fear.”

The joke Oregon GOP appeared to be going for was that the Oregon Democrats were scared of peacefully protesting Oregonians, after party leaders canceled plans to hold a session Saturday. That cancelation came after several groups said they would protest in support of the Republicans, including members of the Three Percenters of Oregon, a militia group that was part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge takeover in 2016.

There was at least one problem with the tweet, however. While the photo was of a rally against HB 2020, it appears it was from Wednesday, before the walkout began.

Many on Twitter said that the tweet promoted violence. Celebrities from Roxane Gay to Al Letson to Howard Dean responded to the tweet.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) offered a three-part response. “#1: These are people protesting peacefully - hence their POSTERS & not FIREARMS,” she tweeted. “#2: Why do you call some who threaten violent attack a ‘militia’ vs others ‘domestic terrorists?’🤔 #3: This a very dramatic way to deal with your Sunday Scaries.”

“We can help you find a therapist,” she added.

After being up for a little over an hour, her tweet had 6,600 likes and 1,300 retweets. The original Oregon GOP tweet had 1,200 likes and about 750 retweets.

The Twitter response did not deter the Oregon GOP. On Sunday morning they sent out another tweet, this one featuring children on the capitol steps, saying, “More scary miltia people at the Oregon Capitol this morning. No wonder Senate Democrats left.”

State Democrats did hold a brief floor session Sunday but were once again unable to reach a quorum.

Oregon Senate Republicans are a no-show at Sunday floor session

A landmark family and medical leave bill that passed the House Thursday is among more than a hundred bills and resolutions still alive near the end of the session that could perish if Republicans' walkout keeps the Oregon Senate shut down.

Here’s a roundup of responses to the Oregon GOP’s first tweet.