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Oklahoma's US House delegation votes against punishing Arizona Republican for video depicting him killing Democratic rep

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, pictured during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. Critics are slamming him for tweeting an edited anime video depicting violence against Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden.
Bill Clark
/
Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, pictured during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. Critics are slamming him for tweeting an edited anime video depicting violence against Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden.

Oklahoma’s five members in the U.S. House opposed censuring Arizona Republican Paul Gosar and stripping him of committee assignments.

On Wednesday, 221 Democrats and two Republicans voted to punish Gosar for editing an anime clip to depict him killing New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joe Biden with swords. Gosar posted the video on his social media accounts.

"It sets a dangerous and disturbing precedent that will likely change the character of the House in the years to come, and not for the better. And the majority is doing so solely to play politics with this moment and to score a cheap political point at the expense of a member of the minority," Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole said on the House floor.

Cole also accused Democrats of not holding their members to a similar standard but spoke only in general terms.

"There have been plenty of instances of members on the majority side using intemperate language, making statements that directly or could be construed as endorsing violence, or taking controversial or inappropriate actions, yet the majority has yet to act to remove one of its own members from their committee assignments," Cole said.

Cole said Gosar explained himself to Republican leaders and said the video was meant to show his opposition to policies.

Gosar, who has reported ties to white nationalist groups, is the second Republican in the House stripped of committee assignments this year. Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene was booted from two committees in February for spreading violent conspiracy theories.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.