Many business owners and Republican lawmakers censured far-left Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), who denied the existence of smash and grab crimes in the United States.
The holiday season in America this year saw an unprecedented surge in smash and grab robberies, which has alarmed law enforcement agencies all over the country.
AOC is tone-deaf for ignoring the latest wave of crimes
Greg Murphy, a GOP congressman, said the “tone-deaf” attitude of liberals is alarming regarding the matter, noting they first defund the police and then deny the existence of crimes.
NYC socialist Democrat denies crime wave https://t.co/wNwOvzhCgw
— Georgia Log Cabin (@GeorgiaLogCabin) December 5, 2021
Earlier this week, AOC told Washington Times most of the organized retail thefts “are not shaping out.” Likewise, she added the data regarding the recent Walgreens robbery does not back up the claim.
Recently, four people equipped with hammers broke into Walgreens and reportedly stole $2,400 worth of commodities. The franchise was also targeted last month when a van smashed into one of the Walgreens branches in Baltimore and ended up stealing the ATM machine.
After facing multiple attacks, Walgreens admitted organized retail theft was one of the prominent challenges being faced by the franchise.
Jewelry store inside a shopping center in LA, targeted today in a smash-and-grab pic.twitter.com/BcEnLRH40w
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) December 3, 2021
With the brutal murder of security guard Kevin Nishita in California, Jim Banks, a Republican congressman of Indiana, noted AOC’s remarks were offensive. Nishita was a former policeman shot down in an organized theft in Oakland on November 24.
Jason Brewer, a senior official of the Retail Industry Leader Association, said AOC had no idea what she was talking about during her interview. Likewise, he added that data and video evidence clearly portray the rising events of organized crime that demand the urgent attention of law enforcement officials.
A walk down Capitol Hill can show organized crimes
Rodney Davis, a GOP lawmaker, asserted there is no need to see data to see these sorts of crimes. He added instead of examining the data, the crimes could easily be observed walking down the street in the Eastern market, referring to the area near Congress.
Davis likewise added he’s been in shops where random people smashed the doors and fled away with whatever they could grab in a short span of time.
Apart from AOC, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, was also put in the spotlight for claiming smash and grab crimes are due to the COVID pandemic.
Los Angeles police arrested 14 people who were suspected of stealing commodities worth $340,000. However, all of them were released later on.
This holiday season, online purchasing is the primary mode of shopping for many customers. According to experts, this is contributing to furthering the crisis.
Per this school of thought, criminals want to steal more and more things, just to sell them online in order to make quick cash before raiding another store.
