Democrats Seek Censure for GOP Lawmaker’s Tweet Depicting AOC Attack

(Bloomberg) -- A group of House Democrats introduced a censure resolution Friday against Representative Paul Gosar for the Arizona Republican’s posting of an altered animated video that depicted him attacking President Joe Biden and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

“For a Member of Congress to post a manipulated video on his social media accounts depicting himself killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Biden is a clear cut case for censure,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “For that Member to post such a video on his official Instagram account and use his official congressional resources in the House of Representatives to further violence against elected officials goes beyond the pale.”

The resolution was introduced by Representative Jackie Speier, the co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and several other lawmakers. They cited the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 as part of the background behind the resolution.

Representatives of Gosar and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The video Gosar posted on Twitter Sunday is an altered version of a a popular Japanese television series called “Attack on Titan,” which is about humans hiding behind walls to protect themselves from marauding giants called Titans. In the clip, the title is manipulated to say “Immigrant Attack” in Japanese.

The tweet appears to have been deleted. In a statement on Tuesday, Gosar said the video was mischaracterized and that he is not advocating violence against Biden or any member of Congress. “This video is truly a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy,” he said in the statement.

Threats of Violence

The censure resolution, which is just over three pages long, cites the lack of criticism from House Republican leadership as well as the prevalence of threats of violence against women in politics.

“The leadership of the Republican Party has failed to condemn Representative Gosar’s threats of violence against the President of the United States and a fellow Member of Congress,” the resolution reads in part, adding later that “violence against women in politics is a global phenomenon meant to silence women and discourage them from seeking positions of authority and participating in public life, with women of color disproportionately impacted.”

Gosar’s tweet was widely denounced by Democrats. Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois was one of the few Republicans to publicly criticize it. He said on CNN Thursday that he would consider voting for the censure resolution.

“My lean would be yes,” said Kinzinger, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump who recently announced his pending retirement from Congress. Barring any egregious language in the resolution to censure, “I would intend to vote yes,” he said.

Kinzinger, one of two Republican members of a select committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6, said it wasn’t acceptable for a member of either party to tweet threats against another member of Congress or to use manipulated media to send the same message.

“It is never acceptable,” he said. “It can’t be acceptable.”

Twitter Inc. said the post by violated “rules about hateful conduct” but that the company “has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the tweet to remain accessible.”

Cosponsors of the resolution are: Representatives Marcy Kaptur, John Yarmuth, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Debbie Dingell, Steve Cohen, Jared Huffman, Dwight Evans, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, Earl Blumenauer, Ilhan Omar, Nydia M. Velázquez, Jerrold Nadler, Joaquin Castro, Ritchie Torres, André Carson, and Raul Grijalva.

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