Meijer Votes Against Censure of Rep. Paul Gosar

Statement

U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) today voted against the censure of Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ). He released the following statement:

"As someone who has faced death threats and had a senior party official reference my assassination, I take political violence seriously. Rep. Gosar disgraced himself with his actions leading up to January 6th, and he has disgraced himself further by associating with anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers.

"Sadly, disgracing oneself with anti-Jewish associates isn't a rare occurrence for a handful of my colleagues on either side of the aisle, but today's vote wasn't about these actions. It was about a dumb anime clip. The last censure of a member of Congress was in 2010. Today, Democratic leadership did not present an objective, articulate standard for censure in the absence of an Ethics Committee ruling or formal legal action.

"Rep. Gosar's conduct has been contemptible, but calling that video a death threat is an unreasonable exaggeration that ignores why political violence is such a threat: leaders embracing authoritarian lies. The American people deserve a Congress that functions according to reason, not emotion."

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