US Congressmen will vote on Wednesday to decide whether or not to reprimand an elected Republican, Paul Gosar, after this close friend of Donald Trump published a parody video showing him killing an elected Democrat and attacking President Biden.
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If approved, this motion to impose official censure, a rare procedure, would further underscore the growing divide between the two parties in the United States every day.
Close to the extreme right, Paul Gosar should then stand up and listen in silence to the President of the House of Representatives read him a text according to which “representations of violence can incite real violence and endanger the safety of elected officials, as we observed in this room on January 6, 2021 ”, the day of the assault on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.
Arizona’s elected official is unlikely to be removed from his seat, but he would join another elected official close to Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, as the second House Republican this year to lose her parliamentary committee functions .
This procedure of public blame known as “censorship” is the most severe punishment to which elected officials can be subjected in the House of Representatives, and only a handful of members have suffered this sanction in the past century, the last example dating back to 11 years.
Donald Trump’s vindictive ally, Paul Gosar regularly echoes the baseless accusations of electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election launched by the former Republican president. He is also seen as close to white nationalist circles and praised the January 6 rioters.
This latest scandal about him erupted after he tweeted a Japanese-style animated video, where he is seen killing left-wing elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Joe Biden with a saber.
Paul Gosar removed the video, which had racked up millions of views, but did not publicly express remorse or apologies to those targeted.
The vote should be a formality since the sanction only requires a simple majority, the Democrats having a margin of three votes, and the support on this issue of two Republicans.
Other Republican elected officials have already signaled behind the scenes that they plan to retaliate if they regain a majority in the midterm elections in 2022.