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U.S. Politicians Call for Consequences After Rep. Paul Gosar's Attack on Titan Anti-Immigration Video

Update: 11/10/21 Representative Gosar issued a statement on Monday clarifying his intent behind the video. In the statement, Gosar wrote: "I do not espouse violence or harm towards any Member of Congress or Mr. Biden." The statement goes on to say that the video is meant as a symbolic representation of conflict between Gosar and President Biden and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez concerning the immigration policy included in the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill. The bill cleared the House and Democrats plan to push the bill through Congress by Thanksgiving.

Gosar's statement claims the bill includes amnesty for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., however the current version of the bill includes a 10 year work authorization for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and no current outline for the group to obtain citizenship. Immigrants living in the U.S. prior to 2011 will receive a five-year moratorium from immigration requirements via a process called "parole." If the moratorium is approved, immigrants can also ask for an extension for an additional five years.

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Members of the United States Congress are calling for consequences for Paul Gosar, Republican representative for Arizona's 4th congressional district, after he posted a political parody of Attack on Titan's first opening sequence on his Twitter account on Sunday. His political rivals appear in the video as Titans, including one who appears to be Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who is then killed in the opening sequence.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has called for investigations by the House Ethics Committee and law enforcement on Tuesday relating to the video. She asked for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to support the move.

“Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated,” Pelosi said.

Ocasio-Cortez wrote on her Twitter account on Monday that "a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me.” She then told The Washington Post that she does not expect Gosar to face any consequences for the video because McCarthy “cheers him on with excuses.”

The House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee issued a press release on Tuesday calling for McCarthy to take action against Gosar.

“From spreading lies about the 2020 election which led to a violent insurrection that injured police officers, to Mr. Gosar's disgusting threats against the American President and a fellow Member of Congress, Leader McCarthy's refusal to take violence seriously is dangerous,” said Cartwright, Dingell, Lieu, and Neguse. “In any other job in America, if a coworker made a video killing another coworker, that person would be fired. Mr. McCarthy needs to decide whether he will finally stand with the American people on the side of law and order or he will continue to support violence and chaos.”

Democratic politicians also responded on Twitter, some calling for Gosar to be removed from Congress.

To ANN's knowledge, no Republican congressmember has issued a statement regarding Gosar's video.

Gosar's sister, Jennifer Gosar, appeared on MSNBC's The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday where she stated her brother is "getting worse" because he has "not been held accountable in any way, shape, or form." Jennifer Gosar specifically called out political and justice leaders for failing to hold her brother accountable, including Pelosi, Schumer, and United States attorney general Merrick Garland. She also questioned her brother's mental faculties and whether he was suitable to serve in office.

Gosar's digital director Jessica Lycos issued a statement on Monday that "everyone needed to relax." Gosar reiterated his views on U.S. immigration policy on Tuesday, and also posted a meme image telling his critics to "relax."

Twitter has not removed Gosar's post on both his professional and personal Twitter accounts, but did add a disclaimer that states the content "violated the Twitter rules for hateful conduct." The social media site has left the video up because it "determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible." The video was also posted on Instagram.

The parody replaces the anime's title card with an alternate Japanese title that translates to "Attack of the Immigrants" (Imin no Kо̄geki). It intersperses clips of refugees with footage from the anime, and portrays U.S. President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party as the Colossal Titan.

The video appears to include implied positive associations with former president Donald Trump and U.S. representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Gaetz is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee for sex trafficking, including an allegation involving a minor. Gaetz has denied the allegations.

Gosar has ties to far-right and white nationalist groups, such as the Groypers, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. He has also endorsed far-right conspiracy theories such as the claim that leftist protestors organized the Capitol riot on January 6.

Sources: Washington Post (Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner), Link 2 (Felicia Sonmez)