Who is Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez? Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted an Instagram live video last night (1 February) talking about what it was like going through the Capitol siege on 6 January. While recounting the events of that week leading up to the attack, she mentions a staffer whom she calls “G” and now viewers are wondering who he is.
Here’s everything we know.
Who is Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez?
Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez, commonly known as “G”, is one of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional staffers.
More specifically, he’s AOC’s Legislative Director. In Congress, a Legislative Director is the person who oversees legislative staff, including all legislative assistants. There’s typically one LD in every Congressperson’s office.
According to Legistorm, Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez is from Bakersfield, California, but his hometown is Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.
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Chavez attended the University of Minnesota Twin Cities for both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
He finished his undergraduate in 2010 and completed a master’s degree in advanced policy analysis between 2013-2015.
Before taking his position as AOC’s Legislative Director, he held a number of Congressional staffer positions. The most recent was a stint as the Senior Economic Advisor to the House Small Business Committee from January to October 2019.
AOC’s Instagram live video
In an Instagram live last night (1 February), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talked candidly about her experience during the US Capitol riots last month.
The full video can be viewed here:
Here, AOC also spoke for the first time about being a victim of sexual assault, and how being told to “move on” after the riots sounds a similar note to tactics used by abusers.
She then went on to detail the events of the riots, and staffer G’s – Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez’s – role in keeping her safe. Her Legislative Director was the only staffer with AOC during the siege.
He told her to run and hide, so she hid in the bathroom. After this, he let her know when it was safe and she emerged. A Capitol Police officer directed them to evacuate, unescorted, to a nearby building.
However, they both felt threatened and weren’t sure if the officer was really there to help them.
Instead, AOC found refuge in Congresswoman Katie Porter’s office withChavez.
Then, she explains, G and Katie’s staffers began to push couches up against the door. She said: “It’s like all of these drills people had on school shootings.”
Following this, AOC said G and Katie’s staffers were making decisions about where they would put themselves between the Congresswomen and any danger that could break into the room.
Speaking out about the situation on NBC, Representative Katie Porter talked about what it was like hiding from the insurrectionists in her office.
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