Defiant Gosar Doubles Down on Social Media Provocations

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 17: Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) rides a subway to the U.S. Capitol Building on November 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The House is expected to vote on a resolution later today which would censure Rep. Gosar and remove him from the House Oversight and Reform Committee for posting an animated video depicting violence against a member of Congress. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

An unrepentant Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, retweeted the violent video that got him censured by the House on Wednesday.

Gosar originally shared the cartoon – which shows him murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and wounding President Joe Biden – last week on social media. A public outcry prompted him to delete the posts, but he refused to apologize to Ocasio-Cortez or Biden. On Wednesday, the House passed a resolution censuring Gosar and stripping him of his committee assignments.

Less than an hour later, Gosar retweeted an account that shared the offending video. (He’s since deleted that retweet.)

A separate tweet from Gosar’s personal account described the censure as “kabuki theater.” He accused Democrats of being “a mob of censors.”

Gosar’s social media spree continued later on in the day. Business Insider reports:

Gosar then made a post on social media platform Gettr on Wednesday night, re-posting an edited image of himself complete with a heavy gold chain and shades superimposed onto his face. The image featured the words “GOSAR LIFE” — a reinvention of the #thuglife meme often used to highlight “gangster” or explicit behavior from teens.

Paul Gosar reposted this meme of himself on GETTR just now. pic.twitter.com/mWUKIXsQXh
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) November 17, 2021

Gosar also posted a video to Gettr in which he said:

“I just got back from the floor with the Democrats, who have censured me for challenging their America Last agenda. They should know I won’t be bullied, even if they challenge me and try to take away my America First agenda. It’s great to be on a service that’s not going to be censored. And if you like cartoons, I love that. I’m looking forward to having a great discussion with you soon.”

Tim Gosar says his brother Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) should be expelled from Congress: "He's dangerous, unhinged, and is reckless." pic.twitter.com/eM4eUzjPz3
— The Recount (@therecount) November 17, 2021

Gosar’s family members appeared on MSNBC Wednesday night to criticize the Arizona Republican. The Daily Beast reports:

“I believe he’s dangerous, unhinged, and is reckless,” Tim Gosar told MSNBC in the wake of the House censure. “And is somebody that, as I’ve said before, needs to not only be censured but he needs to be expelled.”
He said criminal charges should be brought if authorities deem them to be warranted.
“To be honest with you, it is about time,” Jennifer Gosar told MSNBC, calling the anime video shared by her brother “sinister” and “bone-chilling.”
She said the video marked an “escalation” in the lawmaker’s incendiary antics, noting that “this is not the first time my brother has threatened the life of representatives.”