Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she's thrilled the Central Park 5 is getting a renewed spotlight, because it's starting a much-needed convo about injustice ... especially for young people of color.
We got the New York congresswoman Tuesday on Capitol Hill, where we asked about the controversial case that played out in her own backyard in 1989, and the fact it's being depicted in Netflix's new show, "When They See Us," all these years later.
AOC -- who, btw, wasn't born until 6 months after the Central Park attack -- said she's ecstatic the wrongfully convicted men are having their story told in a thoughtful and captivating way.
She added it's one of many cases that illustrate how the criminal justice system all too often fails black and brown youths.
She took a swipe at President Trump too, who infamously took out a giant newspaper ad days after Trisha Meili, the Central Park jogger, was attacked. The ad called for the death penalty to be reinstated in New York, and publicly convicted the 5 boys before their trial even began.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez also weighs in on the campaign to #CancelLindaFairstein -- one of the investigators on the case at the time. As AOC puts it ... it's reckoning time.