Boys will be boys, with their “locker room talk” and their harmless banter. Have you heard that line before? It’s one that is often doled out to women whenever they dare to raise their voice against the shrieking din of misogyny.

Ask Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Congresswoman was given such a line today when she called out a group of young men who were pictured choking and grabbing and clawing – among other things – at a cardboard cutout of her likeness at a picnic for Republican senator Mitch McConnell. The image was posted to Instagram with the caption: “Break me off a piece of that”.

Ocasio-Cortez immediately sought out McConnell, tweeting him: “Hey, these young men look like they work for you. Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping and choking members of Congress w/ your payroll, or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch?”

This photo of teenagers posing with an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cutout isn’t harmless – it’s terrifying