WASHINGTON (Reuters) – There is no place in the U.S. political system for the sort of violent images Congressman Paul Gosar spread about his colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.
“There is absolutely no place … for any violence of any sort in this political system,” said Jean-Pierre, adding she would leaving it to Twitter to decide how to act. “This should not be happening, and we should be condemning it,” she said.
Gosar, a Republican lawmaker, posted an anime-style cartoon on Twitter depicting him swinging swords at President Joe Biden and Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, and killing her. The social media company put a warning on the post, but did not remove it.
Earlier in the day, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for investigations into Gosar’s video. “Threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States must not be tolerated,” Pelosi tweeted.
(This story corrects that Jean-Pierre is deputy press secretary, not press secretary in first paragraph.)
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
