About

Ilhan Omar and AOC's Fake Handcuffs or Ilhan Omar and AOC Pretending To Be Arrested refers to U.S. House Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar being arrested at a protest outside of the Supreme Court regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade and abortion rights in general. When videos and photographs of the pair, alongside Rep. Alma Adams, surfaced on Twitter, many believed they were pretending to be arrested because no handcuffs were visible on their wrists despite them acting like they were restrained. Memes and a viral debate ensued in July 2022 about the controversy.

Origin

On July 19th, 2022, protestors from the Democratic Women's Caucus^[1] organized outside of the United States Supreme Court Building to partake in a peaceful protest against the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Among the protestors were multiple House lawmakers who disagreed with the Court's ruling. During the protests, 17 of the lawmakers present were arrested: Reps. Alma Adams (D-N.C.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Andy Levin (D-Mich.), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).^[2]

On July 19th, Twitter^[6] user DouglasKBlair tweeted a video of AOC being arrested at the protest by Capitol police. In the video, she's seen with her hands behind her back, raising one fist in the air and walking away. In three hours, the video received roughly 2.6 million views and over 7,000 likes (shown below). Additionally, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted^[3] the video herself an hour later, receiving roughly 235,900 views and 5,700 likes.

.@AOC has just been escorted by police away from the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/F9DOoLq8yJ

— Douglas Blair (@DouglasKBlair) July 19, 2022

Roughly one minute after AOC's tweet,^[3] Twitter^[4] user and news anchor for WCCO-TV Esme Murphy tweeted a video that she'd taken of her TV screen, identifying both AOC and Ilhan Omar being arrested in the live news coverage. Omar can be seen in the video walking by herself with her hands behind her back. In two hours, the video received roughly 566,600 views and 1,200 likes (shown below).

Staff confirms this is video of Rep @ilhanmn under arrest and in handcuffs , she and other female Members were arrested in a protest supporting abortion rights in front of the Supreme Court today pic.twitter.com/2RwOAq6U2J

— esme murphy (@esmemurphy) July 19, 2022

Roughly an hour later, Omar used Murphy's video in her own tweet^[5] announcing her arrest, giving the video more views and engagement. Her tweet received roughly 16,100 likes in one hour (shown below).

Today I was arrested while participating in a civil disobedience action with my fellow Members of Congress outside the Supreme Court.I will continue to do everything in my power to raise the alarm about the assault on our reproductive rights! ✊🏽pic.twitter.com/rpFYOGBDf4

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 19, 2022

Spread

Many reactions surfaced in the replies to DouglasKBlair's tweet^[6] that criticized AOC for not actually being in handcuffs. For instance, on July 19th, 2022, Twitter^[7] user DoctorFishbones tweeted screenshots of AOC with no handcuffs, captioning it, "AOC pretending to be arrested and handcuffed is the most AOC moment of her career," gaining roughly 3,500 likes in three hours (shown below, left). Also on July 19th, Instagram^[8] page grandoldmemes posted a "Media" vs. "Reality" meme that received roughly 1,800 likes, as well as a repost to Twitter^[9] that received over 7,000 likes in two hours (shown below, right).

Other reactions and memes surfaced from the video of Ilhan Omar. For instance, Twitter^[10] user MattWalshBlog posted a quote retweet on July 19th that stated, "Ilhan Omar is placed in invisible handcuffs that still allow for full range of motion," earning roughly 3,700 likes in two hours (shown below).

Ilhan Omar is placed in invisible handcuffs that still allow for full range of motion https://t.co/TEXimfYKMJ

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 19, 2022

Despite speculation that the two Reps. were pretending, others defended them. For instance, Twitter^[11] user joffiecakes posted a quote retweet of the Ilhan Omer video, claiming that she's been "politically active and demonstrating for 34 years" and that "keeping your hands still, so police can see you have no plans of being disobedient, is the first thing you learn. These idiots are trying to force a bullshit narrative. As usual."

Various Examples

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