Far-right Congressman Paul Gosar, a repeat defender of the pro-Trump Capitol insurrectionists, made waves on Monday with a bizarre video posted to his official congressional Twitter account.
Gosar shared an edited video of the opening sequence for the Japanese anime Attack on Titan, featuring him and other far-right members of Congress killing firebrand progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and President Joe Biden.
The video was soon slapped with a disclaimer for violating Twitter's rules of conduct. Nevertheless, Gosar praised his team for compiling it.
The creativity of my team is off the hook.https://twitter.com/repgosar/status/1457493879003963398\u00a0\u2026— Paul Gosar (@Paul Gosar) 1636333454
Ocasio-Cortez, who is currently on a congressional climate delegation to Scotland, eventually caught wind of the video.
The Congresswoman lambasted Gosar as well as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California for continually allowing Republican members of Congress to harass, belittle, and intimidate members like her.
So while I was en route to Glasgow, a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me\n\nAnd he\u2019ll face no consequences bc @GOPLeader cheers him on with excuses.\n\nFun Monday! Well, back to work bc institutions don\u2019t protect wochttps://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1457865685464276997\u00a0\u2026— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1636422132
Remember when Yoho accosted me on the the Capitol and called me a f—ing b—
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 locked inside
All at my job 🙃 & nothing ever happens
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2021
Anyways, back to business 👩🏽💼
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2021
This dude is a just a collection of wet toothpicks anyway.
White supremacy is for extremely fragile people &sad men like him, whose self concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn't open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez, known colloquially as "AOC," deemed Gosar's post as one instance of a repeated pattern of harassment allowed by the GOP Minority Leader. She pointed to Representative Ted Yoho's outburst last year, when he called her a "f***ing bitch" in front of reporters, as well as far-right conspiracy theorist Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia repeatedly accosting her on the House floor.
She noted that institutions like the House of Representatives are severely inadequate at protecting women of color and that she expected to go "back to business" despite facing violent fantasies from her coworkers.
People expressed support for the Congresswoman.
Solidarity with @AOC. Gosar=misogynist rage mixed with an authoritarian desire to annihilate opposition politicians. See my @washingtonpost op-ed on the GOP's politics of threat: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/07/07/violent-rhetoric-elections-gop/\u00a0\u2026https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1457886208563032066\u00a0\u2026— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@Ruth Ben-Ghiat) 1636467300
Disgusting. I\u2019m sorry this is happening to u.— Grace Meng (@Grace Meng) 1636423025
This is disgusting. I\u2019m so sorry.— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28 (@Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28) 1636422780
I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this. It is inexcusable. Just know there are so many people that see and appreciate all that you are doing to help the people of this country.— Tracy (@Tracy) 1636422492
OMG. I\u2019m so sorry and horrified that you have to through this and deal with all the bs. I am grateful you are fighting for everyone. I\u2019m in awe of all the hard work you do. PLEASE please stay safe!! And Thank you— Patty (@Patty) 1636456303
They're demanding Gosar face consequences.
Paul Gosar needs to be expelled from Congress.https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1457886208563032066\u00a0\u2026— Nina Turner (@Nina Turner) 1636424922
It\u2019s unacceptable for any institution let alone Congress to permit this behavior. Someone\u2019s going to get killed. I can\u2019t believe it has to be said, but we\u2019ve had enough murder in the Capitol. @SpeakerPelosi #ExpelGosarhttps://twitter.com/aoc/status/1457886208563032066\u00a0\u2026— Shaunna Thomas (@Shaunna Thomas) 1636467166
There need to be rules in Congress to punish people who do this sort of thing. It has gotten way out of hand.— Scoop (@Scoop) 1636422380
Until we hold these people accountable, they won't be held accountable.— REvolt3D (@REvolt3D) 1636422376
Gosar has yet to respond.