Rep. Paul Gosar has doubled down on the controversial cartoon video that depicted him slaying Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, issuing a statement slamming the condemnation of the clip as an overreaction.
Gosar, an Arizona Republican, said in the statement on Tuesday night that he does ‘not espouse violence or harm towards any Member of Congress’ or President Joe Biden.
It followed furious condemnation of the clip, with top Democrats in Congress calling on Republican leadership to sanction Gosar over the video.
The clip shows a sword-wielding character with Gosar’s superimposed face using a jetpack to soar onto a rooftop before attacking Ocasio-Cortez, who has responded by calling Gosar ‘creepy’ and ‘a neo-Nazi fundraiser.’
Gosar said in his statement: ‘The cartoon depicts the symbolic nature of a battle between lawful and unlawful policies and in no way intended to be a targeted attack against Representative Cortez or Mr. Biden. It is a symbolic cartoon. It is not real life. Congressman Gosar cannot fly.’
Rep. Paul Gosar has doubled down on the controversial cartoon video that depicted him slaying Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in an anime battle
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the clip by calling Gosar ‘creepy’ and ‘a neo-Nazi fundraiser.’
He said that the images were meant to depict his strong opposition to illegal immigration, and the looming battle over an amnesty provision that could be included in Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate spending bill.
‘This video is truly a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy,’ Gosar claimed. ‘Congresswoman Cortez, whose image is shown in the fictional anime, represents the Democrats’ open border amnesty agenda included in the Build Back Better Plan.’
In a tweet Monday night, Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, referred to Gosar as ‘a creepy member I work with’ and said he ‘shared a fantasy video of him killing me.’
She added that Gosar would face no consequences because Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ‘cheers him on with excuses.’ She also said that institutions ‘don’t protect’ women of color.
Elaborating on her tweet, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters at the climate conference in Scotland that it’s common for women of color to be ignored when ‘sounding alarms about very disturbing behaviors, patterns, etcetera.’
‘And that dynamic is also reflected in the United States Congress,’ she said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted Tuesday calling on GOP leadership to sanction Gosar
She called on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (above) to condemn ‘this horrific video and call on the Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted Tuesday from the climate conference, where she’s leading a congressional delegation that includes Ocasio-Cortez, that read: ‘Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated.’
She called on McCarthy to condemn ‘this horrific video and call on the Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate.’
Spokespersons for McCarthy did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Pelosi´s tweet.
A fellow House Democrat, Ted Lieu of California, referred to Gosar’s tweet as ‘sick behavior’ and said in a tweet of his own: ‘In any workplace in America, if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired.’
Gosar, a Republican, posted the video Sunday afternoon with a note saying: ‘Any anime fans out there?’ Late Tuesday, he issued a statement saying the video wasn’t meant to depict harm or violence, calling it instead ‘a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy.’
The roughly 90-second video is an altered version of a Japanese anime series, interspersed with shots of Border Patrol officers and migrants at the southern U.S. border.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to his video from Scotland, where she’s attending a climate summit
Gosar’s character then drops down from the air to cut open AOC’s anime character
She’s slashed with a sword before Gosar jets away and later lunges toward President Joe Biden
During one roughly 10-second section of the video, animated characters whose faces have been replaced with Gosar and fellow Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado are seen fighting other animated characters.
In one scene, Gosar’s character is seen striking the one made to look like Ocasio-Cortez in the neck with a sword.
Twitter later attached a warning to the tweet saying ‘it violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.’
Gosar is known as an ardent ally of former President Donald Trump.
He was among the lawmakers whose phone or computer records a House panel investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol asked social media and telecommunications companies to preserve.
The House select committee said the records were potentially involved with efforts to ‘challenge, delay or interfere’ with the certification or otherwise try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Twitter placed a warning on the video for ‘violating rules about hateful content’
Gosar, a close ally of QAnon lawmaker Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, has faced previous criticism for spreading conspiracy theories about the January 6 riot and for a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2017.
Ocasio-Cortez also tweeted about Greene and other lawmakers Monday night.
‘Remember when [Rep. Ted] Yoho accosted me on the the Capitol and called me a f—ing b—,’ she said. ‘Remember when Greene ran after me a few months ago screaming and reaching Remember when she stalked my office the 1st time w/ insurrectionists & ppl [sic] locked inside All at my job & nothing ever happens.’
Some Twitter users are calling for ‘lunatic’ Gosar to be removed from the platform – and booted from Congress.
‘Under [no] circumstances should his fantasies of killing people be swept away,’ tweeted @fred_guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed during a Parkland, Florida, school shooting.
‘We know he is a lunatic. America, we better vote in 2022 for Democrats or he will be in leadership.’
Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff tweeted: ‘Republican @RepGosar has shared a photoshopped animated video that depicts him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
‘Absolutely disgraceful. He should be removed from committee assignments just as Marjorie Taylor Greene was.’
