- Rep. Gosar sought to explain himself in a meeting with his House GOP colleagues on Tuesday.
- Gosar tried to explain the meaning of the video and apparently didn't see it before it was posted.
- House Democrats are planning to punish Gosar for the video, but haven't yet decided how.
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona sought to explain himself to his colleagues in a closed-door House GOP conference meeting on Tuesday morning, reportedly telling the room that he doesn't "believe in violence against any member" after he posted a video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Dozens of House Democrats are backing a resolution to censure the Arizona Republican for the video, while other reports say that Democratic leadership is considering stripping Gosar of his committee assignments, placing him in similar company as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
According to several reporters with sources in the room, Gosar stood up before his colleagues and sought to explain the video. "I don't believe in violence against any member," he reportedly said. He also said his office posted the video to try to reach a younger audience, and he did not see it before it was posted.
—Ben Siegel (@bensiegel) November 16, 2021
—Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 16, 2021
According to CNN, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that Gosar's explanation was well-received by the conference, which appears to be more intent on punishing GOP members that voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden on Monday.
"He didn't see it before it posted. It was not his intent to show any harm," said McCarthy. "What I said to conference was, [we] cannot accept any action or showing of a violence to another member."
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, who was himself the victim of political violence in 2017, also seemed to back up Gosar.
"He put out a statement and he took the video down," Scalise told CNN. "And look, I've been very vocal against any kind of political violence. And you see it on both sides over the last few years. Unfortunately, you don't see the Democrats having an interest in calling it out on both sides."
At a press conference on Tuesday, Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Hakeem Jeffries declined to say what specific action would be taken against Gosar, but told reporters that he "needs to be held accountable, and he will be held accountable."
On November 8, Gosar posted an edited clip of a scene from the "Attack on Titan" anime entitled "Attack on Immigrants" that depicted a character with Gosar's face edited onto it killing a giant superimposed with Ocasio-Cortez's face. Earlier this year, Gosar also came under scrutiny for speaking at a white nationalist conference, skipping a vote on a COVID-19 relief bill to attend.
Rep. Gosar later issued a lengthy statement responding to the "gross mischaracterization of a short anime video produced by his office" in which he clarified that the video is "truly a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy."
But that same day, Rep. Gosar also posted a meme making fun of his critics.
Gosar's office did not respond to a request for comment.