Paul Gosar Said He Deleted Violent Tweet; Gives Conflicting Excuses

Paul Gosar (R-AZ) tweeted a video clip from his official blue-checkmarked Twitter account last week. He’s now deleted it, but the excuses he’s giving seem to contradict each other.

As reported at the time, Gosar must have been aware when sharing the video that there would be backlash, because he tweeted it using a setting that prohibits most Twitter users from replying. Now, according to CNN reporters Manu Raju and Melanie Zanona, Gosar says he “didn’t see the violence in the video” before it was posted.

McCarthy also defended Gosar, telling reporters what he relayed to his conference: "He didn't see it before it posted… It was not his intent to show any harm. What I said to conference was, cannot accept any action or showing of violence to another member."

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 16, 2021

Gosar isn’t saying where the video came from, whether it was made by a staff member or sent to him by someone else, or why he would tweet a video clip without watching it. However, when he defended the video on his Twitter account, he seemed to be very clear on the contents, and suggested everyone else was overreacting.

He tweeted a drawing with one person crying over the “cartoon anime…with jet pack and light sabers” and the other responding, “It’s a cartoon. Relax.”

pic.twitter.com/WgX9P2FdHh

— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) November 9, 2021

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Again, there’s no official statement on whether Gosar or a member of his staff posted this, but ultimately the Congressman is responsible for messages from his office. Still, it may be hoped that a U.S. Representative would know the difference between “you’re” and “your.”

Other members of Congress, as well as Gosar’s own sister, have spoken out to say that something must be done about his behavior, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says that he has given a warning that the conference “cannot accept any action or showing of violence” between members.

Still, there’s no clarity from Gosar’s office on which excuse is true: was it just “a cartoon” that Gosar thought was appropriate, or was it violence that he “didn’t see” until after he’d defended it and attacked those calling him out?