Republican Rep. Paul Gosar took to Twitter on Sunday to share a bizarre and disturbing video.
The 90-second clip, based on Hajime Isayama’s anime Attack on Titan, depicts Gosar attacking prominent Democrats, including President Joe Biden and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In one scene, Gosar jumps in the air and stabs Ocasio-Cortez’s character in the face. Another scene shows the Republican jumping at Biden with two swords. Footage of immigrants at the southern border is also seen in the video.
Read more below.
Fierce Backlash
Predictably, Gosar’s actions sparked backlash from Democrats, media figures, liberal activists, and even some Republicans.
As Newsweek reported, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California described the congressman’s behavior as "sick."
"In any workplace in America if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker that person would be fired," Lieu said.
"This man needs to be expelled from Congress. Period," former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner stated.
"Paul Gosar has threatened the life of AOC. He needs to be arrested," actress Rosanna Arquette said.
Others Join In
Others were quick to join in, with executive director at the Democratic Coalition Scott Dworkin tweeting that "Paul Gosar needs to be banned from Twitter permanently. And arrested."
Former Republican Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, meanwhile, accused Gosar of inciting violence.
"This is way beyond the pale. This is just pure incitement. He must be censured. He should not run again. He needs help. He’s f***** nuts. But Republicans won’t do a damn thing to him," he said.
The clip has been removed from Gosar’s Twitter page, while he responded to critics with a meme.
White House, Pelosi Respond
As reported by Reuters, the White House on Tuesday condemned Gosar’s behavior.
"This should not be happening, and we should be condemning it," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi argued that both the U.S. Congress and law enforcement need to investigate Gosar.
"Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated," Pelosi stressed.
Ocasio-Cortez described Gosar as a "creepy member I work with," and noted she doesn’t expect Republican House leaders to punish him in any way.
Far-Right Links
Gosar, who clearly doesn’t shy way from controversy, is considered a far-right politician.
This summer, he was listed as attending a fundraiser with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
Fuentes has been banned from all major social media platforms, but maintains a large fan base.
He is a Holocaust denier. who once downplayed the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust and compared those who were killed in Nazi gas chambers to cookies baking in an oven.
Fuentes has also made extremely bigoted remarks against Muslims, and said that segregation "was better" for Black people.
]]>The Inquisitr
