Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Justice Department emergency proposals 'abhorrent'

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
(Image credit: Screenshot/CNN)

The coronavirus pandemic should not be an excuse for the suspension of civil rights, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Sunday.

During an appearance on CNN's State of the Union, host Jake Tapper asked Ocasio-Cortez to respond to the emergency proposals submitted to Congress by the Justice Department, including one which would give Attorney General William Barr the power to ask chief district judges to pause court proceedings when the court is overwhelmed by an emergency like the ongoing pandemic.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.