Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to bring activist who confronted Jeff Flake to SOTU

WASHINGTON — The woman who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake last year in a widely seen, videotaped confrontation ahead of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said she plans to attend Tuesday’s State of the Union address following an invitation from freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Flake, R-Arizona, said in an interview with "60 Minutes" that the confrontation with Ana Maria Archila and another activist helped persuade him to delay the full Senate vote over Kavanaugh's nomination and insist on an FBI investigation. At the time, the judge was facing sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.

"I'm proud to announce that my #StateOfTheUnion guest will be (Archila)," Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, said Monday in a tweet. She added that Archila is one of her constituents and "living proof that the courage within all of us can change the (world)."

Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, told The Intercept she felt moved that Ocasio-Cortez was "inviting that moment of the elevator -- my confrontation with the men who do not understand the life of women and the lives of people who are not in power -- that she's inviting that into the imagination of people again."

In a tweet Monday, she thanked Ocasio-Cortez for “holding the doors open for so many, so that our voice can be hard at the #SOTU & beyond!”

President Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union address Tuesday night before a joint session of Congress.

Cox Media Group