Republican Congressman Paul Gosar should be stripped of his committee assignments for posting a violent video about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, House Rules Committee chairman Jim McGovern said Wednesday.
“When a member uses taxpayer money to produce a video encouraging violence against another member, they should lose the privilege of serving on a committee,” McGovern said during a debate on whether to censure Gosar. “That’s what serving on a congressional committee is: It is a privilege. It is not a right.”
The Democrat called on Republicans to stand up to their leadership and condemn Gosar for posting an anime-style video that depicted him killing Ocasio-Cortez.
“For once, can my colleagues on the other side stand up to your leadership and say in public what you know to be true?” McGovern said, questioning, “Is this the state of the Republican party?”
Posted with the caption “Any anime fans out there?,” the clip shared by Gosar earlier this month splices footage from the opening credits of “Attack on Titan” with clips of border patrol agents and migrants crossing a river near the southern border of the U.S. In between, words like “drugs” and “trafficking” flash on screen. Then, a fight sequence shows characters over whose faces have been superimposed those of Republican lawmakers like Reps. Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Gosar. They fight characters who have the faces of prominent Democrats.
Notably, Gosar’s avatar attacks a stand-in for Ocasio-Cortez, landing on her back and stabbing her with a sword. After, he runs toward another monster with the face of President Joe Biden.
Depending on the outcome of Wednesday’s House vote, Gosar could be censured ad lose his committee assignments. He serves as Republican leader of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and is on the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.