Gosar Drops Lengthy Statement Trying to Explain Bonkers Anime Meme: ‘I Do Not Espouse Violence’
Congressman Paul Gosar (R- AZ) issued a statement Tuesday trying to defend his bizarre anime video while saying he does not “espouse violence.”
On Monday Gosar posted a video his office made inserting the congressman into Attack on Titan for the lulz or something, and the clip depicts Gosar killing a monster represented by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D- NY). The congressman, who has previously come under fire for his links to white nationalists, was widely condemned by many House colleagues.
Gosar issued a statement saying, “I do not espouse violence or harm towards any Member of Congress or Mr. Biden.”
However, the statement accuses his critics of “gross mischaracterization” and defends it as a symbolic depiction of “a battle between lawful and unlawful policies and in no way intended to be a targeted attack against Representative Cortez or Mr. Biden.”
“It is a symbolic cartoon. It is not real life. Congressman Gosar cannot fly. The hero of the cartoon goes after the monster, the policy monster of open borders,” he said. “This video is truly a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy.”
Rep. Paul Gosar in a new statement is addressing the blowback from the anime video that caught the attention of top Democrats.
“I do not espouse violence or harm towards any Member of Congress or Mr. Biden," he writes. pic.twitter.com/CwfzHcKVC7
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) November 9, 2021
Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Gosar to be investigated earlier Tuesday, and there was a lot of pressure on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to take disciplinary action.
