Twitter refuses to take down Gosar anime that sees him assassinate AOC

‘Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,’ company says

Twitter has refused to take down an edited anime video that shows Arizona Republican Representative Paul Gosar assassinating New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Twitter flagged the tweet on Monday night but allowed it to stay up on the site because it was considered to be in the “public interest”.

Mr Gosar posted the video on Sunday night. It shows several Republican lawmakers, including Mr Gosar, Georgia Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Colorado Rep Lauren Boebert, as the heroes in the Japanese anime show Attack on Titan – a programme about a small post-apocalyptic society living in a closed-off city in order to keep away giants referred to as Titans.

The face of Ms Ocasio-Cortez is superimposed on a Titan that is killed by Mr Gosar’s character, who also attacks a character with President Joe Biden’s face.

“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct,” the note added by Twitter to Mr Gosar’s tweet states. “However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”

“This is sick behaviour from Rep Paul Gosar,” California Democrat Ted Lieu tweeted. “He tweeted out the video showing him killing Rep Ocasio-Cortez from both his official account and personal account. In any workplace in America, if a coworker made an anime video killing another coworker, that person would be fired.”

Ms Ocasio-Cortez added that “a creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me and he’ll face no consequences [because] @GOPLeader cheers him on with excuses. Fun Monday! Well, back to work because institutions don’t protect [women of colour].”

“Remember when [Florida Republican Ted Yoho] accosted me on the Capitol [steps] and called me a f—ing b—. Remember when Greene ran after me a few months ago screaming ... Remember when she stalked my office the [first] time [with] insurrectionists and people locked inside. All at my job and nothing ever happens,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez added.

“This dude is just a collection of wet toothpicks anyway,” she wrote. “White supremacy is for extremely fragile people and sad men like him, whose self-concept relies on the myth that he was born superior because deep down he knows he couldn’t open a pickle jar or read a whole book by himself.”

“Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted. “@GOPLeader should join in condemning this horrific video and call on the Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate.”

Mr Gosar is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump and has been one of the main voices playing down the significance of the insurrection on 6 January. He gained national attention in 2018 when six of his siblings appeared in an ad endorsing his challenger. His family members later pushed for him to be ousted from office because of his extreme views.

“Happy Monday in America, where @GOPLeader McCarthy’s colleague just posted a video of himself swinging two swords at President Biden,” California Democratic Rep Eric Swalwell tweeted. “These bloodthirsty losers are more comfortable with violence than voting. Keep exposing them.”

When he shared the video on his personal Twitter account, Mr Gosar wrote: “The creativity of my team is off the hook.”

Responding to the criticism on Tuesday, Mr Gosar tweeted a meme, telling those upset by the video: “It’s a cartoon. Relax.”