Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Tucker Carlson's on-air fixation with her is 'targeted, libelous harassment'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said comments about her by Tucker Carlson were "libelous."

The Fox News host devoted a section of his show last week to insulting her.

Hillary Clinton said recently that Fox attacks on her were approaching a point where she could sue.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described personalized attacks on her by Fox News host Tucker Carlson as "targetted, libelous harassment," deepening the feud between the two.

Carlson devoted a segment of his show Friday to mocking and insulting Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York and a frequent subject of his on-air tirades

He described Ocasio-Cortez, whose ancestry is Puerto Rican, as a "rich, entitled white lady," and remarked that an old Instagram video she posted sounded like "an invitation to a booty call."

In a series of tweets, Ocasio-Cortez said the host's comments were fuelling violent threats against her.

"I genuinely want to know why Tucker Carlson is allowed/paid to engage in clear, targeted, libelous harassment that endangers people &drives so many violent threats that ppl have to fundraise for their own safety. Why should they have to pay for his harassment? Make it make sense," she said.

"It's not within the realm of political commentary, & it's not just me. He regularly targets people that do not have access to resources for protection. Once he gets to fantasizing about 'booty calls' of women on national TV I cease to see the political value outside of incitement."

She had earlier posted a tweet linking to a video of his "booty call" comments, and described him as a "creep."

Fox News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Ocasio-Cortez is one of America's most prominent progressive voices and has a gained a large social media-following.

She has also become a hate figure for many conservatives and has spoken of the trauma of the online attacks against her. Carlson's attention to her intensified last week after she began campaigning for Democratic candidates in Texas.

Ocasio-Cortez's comments echo those of Hillary Clinton, who last week said that Fox News attacks on her were approaching "actual malice," the threshold where she could sue for defamation.