‘Attack Of Immigrants’: GOP Lawmaker Paul Gosar Tweets Anime Video Showing Him Striking Biden, AOC

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., drew ire on Twitter on Sunday after he tweeted a video showing an animated lookalike of himself striking a photo-manipulated version of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The video also showed Gosar’s character, armed with two swords, running toward a close-up photo of President Joe Biden.

On top of the video, Twitter noted that while the content “violated Twitter Rules about hateful conduct,” the social media site “has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”

The video, which appears to be largely inspired by Hajime Isayama’s manga “Attack on Titan,” featured anime effects and soundtrack, with clips of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In one part of the video, the caption “attack of migrants” can be read, as Gosar’s character and animated lookalikes of Rep. Lauren Bobert, R-Colo., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., can be seen appearing to attack a giant character manipulated with a photo of Ocasio-Cortez on the face part.

Hours after the tweet started going viral, some Twitter users called for Gosar’s account to be suspended, The Washington Post reported. Responding to a tweet of the Post's story regarding the video, one user suggested an investigation into Gosar by the U.S. Secret Service, while another user said that Gosar “should be expelled from Congress” as “normal employers take that type of workplace violence seriously.”

Another user agreed, stating that Gosar’s actions “wouldn’t be tolerated in any other workplace.”

Following the backlash, the Arizona congressman’s digital director, Jessica Loys, said in a statement that “everyone needs to relax.”

Responding to the issue, Ocasio-Cortez stated that there will be no consequences for Gosar since he has the support of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, the congressman from California.

Ocasio-Cortez’s response was accompanied by a retweet of Rep. Ted Lieu’s, D-Calif., comment on the issue wherein Lieu termed Gosar’s post as “sick behavior,” adding that in “any workplace in America, if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired.”

Gosar has been criticized in the past for sharing his extremist views on conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, The Hill reported. His own siblings also called for his removal from Congress following his actions of encouraging Trump supporters of overturning election results before the deadly Capitol riot earlier this year that claimed five lives.

Two of his estranged siblings told NBC News that Gosar should be investigated for his work in delegitimizing 2020 presidential election results.