Pelosi Calls for Probes Into Gosar After Congressman Shared Violent Video

Pelosi Calls for Probes Into Gosar After Congressman Shared Violent Video
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Aug. 25, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
11/10/2021
Updated:
11/10/2021

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) should be investigated by a congressional panel and law enforcement for sharing a video that depicted him attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday.

“Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated,” Pelosi said in a post on social media.

She called on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to condemn Gosar and the House Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate.

Other members of Congress joined the call for McCarthy to take action and the White House also reacted to what happened.

“In any workplace in America, if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter.

“There is no place for any type of violence or that type of language in the political system and it should not be happening,” deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington.

The video in question, an anime, showed a character with Gosar’s face executing another character with Ocasio-Cortez’s face with a sword. In another scene, Gosar was seen charging with swords toward a character with Biden’s face.

“Any anime fans out there?” Gosar asked while sharing the video.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Gosar later deleted the missive.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Gosar said the video was produced by his office and was being mischaracterized.

The video depicted the fight taking place regarding the president’s social spending plan, he said.

It “symbolizes the battle for the soul of American when Congress takes up Mr. Biden’s massive $4 trillion spending bill that includes amnesty for millions of illegal aliens in our country and was not meant to depict any harm or violence against anyone portrayed,” he added.

Ocasio-Cortez was chosen because she “represents the Democrats’ open border amnesty” that’s included in the legislative package, according to Gosar.

Ocasio-Cortez is among the Democrats who have pushed to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants.

Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to describe Gosar as “a creepy member I work with” and said that he “shared a fantasy video of him killing me.”

She said she doubted Gosar would face consequences for sharing the video.

McCarthy’s office and the House ethics panel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.