Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is defending herself against attacks claiming she exaggerated her account of what she experienced during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

During an Instagram Live video Monday night, the New York Democrat said she feared for her life and believed she would be killed by the pro-Trump mob. She described taking shelter in a bathroom when a man screaming "where is she?" entered her office.

"I thought I was going to die," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And I had a lot of thoughts, you have a lot of thoughts when you're in a situation like that. I have never been quieter in my entire life."

According to Ocasio-Cortez, the man who entered her office was a Capitol Police officer who looked at her with “a tremendous amount of anger and hostility.” The officer then directed her to take shelter in another building along with Rep. Katie Porter of California. 

Some conservatives have sought to discredit Ocasio-Cortez’s story by suggesting she not in danger because rioters were focused on the Capitol building, not the surrounding office buildings.

Discussing Ocasio-Cortez’s account, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson called her a narcissist, adding, “People will believe this crap. Some already do.”

The hashtag "#AlexandriaOcasioSmollet" trended on Twitter, a reference to the actor whom Chicago police accused of staging an assault on himself in 2019 by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. (The hashtag was later taken over by KPop fans and supporters of Ocasio-Cortez, defending her – supporters have also flooded another anti-Ocasio-Cortez hashtag, #AOCLied, with pictures of their pets.)

One America News Network host Jack Posobiec posted a map with arrows pointing to the Capitol and to Ocasio-Cortez’s office with the comment “Fact-check.” The post has been shared more than 13,000 times.

The congresswoman responded, tweeting: "This isn’t a fact check at all. Your arrows aren’t accurate. They lie about where the mob stormed & place them further away than it was."

"You also fail to the convey *multiple* areas people were trying to storm," she added. "It wasn’t 1. You also failed to show tunnels. Poor job all around."

In another tweet in response to a post saying Ocasio-Cortez was not in the Capitol building during the riot, she wrote: "This is the latest manipulative take on the right. They are manipulating the fact that most people don’t know the layout the Capitol complex.We were all on the Capitol complex - the attack wasn’t just on the dome. The bombs Trump supporters planted surrounded our offices too."

She was referring to undetonated pipe bombs found at the nearby Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Ocasio-Cortez also got into a back-and-forth on Twitter with freshman Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who tweeted, "I'm two doors down from @aoc and no insurrectionists stormed our hallway."

AOC shot back: "This is a deeply cynical & disgusting attack, @NancyMace. As the Capitol complex was stormed and people were being killed, none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised. You previously told reporters yourself that you barricaded in your office, afraid you’d be hurt."

Mace then argued she did not discount Ocasio-Cortez’s experience. 

"FACT: Insurrectionists weren’t in our hallways," Mace wrote. "It’s your eagerness to politicize absolutely ANYTHING that deserves condemnation."