Pelosi says Republican lawmaker should be investigated for threatening video By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) questions United States Park Police acting Chief Gregory T. Monahan, during a U.S. House Natural Resources Committee hearing on "The U.S. Park Police Attack on Peaceful Protesters at Lafayette Square", on Capitol Hill in

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday urged investigations into an anime video tweeted by Republican congressman Paul Gosar that depicted him swinging swords at President Joe Biden and killing Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated," Pelosi said in a statement on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).

She added that House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy "should join in condemning this horrific video and call on the Ethics Committee and law enforcement to investigate."

McCarthy's office did not respond to requests for comment.

A House Ethics Committee staff official declined to comment on the Gosar video.

One ethics expert said that threatening behavior could violate both House ethics rules and federal criminal statutes.

"He is putting his real feelings out there, and his real feelings look very threatening," said Craig Holman, ethics lobbyist for Public Citizen.

Under House rules, ethics violations can result in reprimands, fines, censure or removal from office. Threats can also constitute felony violations punishable by imprisonment.

Twitter added a warning label to the video, saying it violated its "hateful conduct" policy. It also restricted engagement with the tweet.

"I will always fight for the rule of law, securing our borders and defending the America First agenda," Gosar said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

The Arizona Republican, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, voted against certifying Biden's 2020 election victory, has backed Trump's claims of a stolen election and has described Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 as "peaceful patriots."

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Gosar's tweet with a Twitter https:// thread noting the video posted by a "creepy member I work with," and said she expected no consequences for Gosar from the House Republican leader.

Other Democrats called for Gosar to leave office.

"In any other job in America, if a coworker made a video killing another coworker, that person would be fired," members of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee said in a statement.

The 90-second video shared by Gosar on Sunday appears to be an altered version of a Japanese animated series.

Twitter said in a notification attached above the tweet that it had determined "it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible."

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