Three of Rep. Paul Gosar’s (R-Ariz.) siblings have called on him to be expelled from Congress, The Arizona Republic reported, placing blame on the congressman for helping incite the violent riot that took place at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Gosar’s siblings sent a letter to Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) asking for his help in removing their brother from Congress, the newspaper reported.
It’s the third time in three years that members of Gosar’s family have publicly voiced their disapproval of the representative.
“We know him to be an extremist and we took that very seriously,” Jennifer Gosar told the newspaper. “I believe that my brother has been a constant perpetrator of misinformation. … I’ve been incredulous at the lack of accountability thus far. I would think Wednesday would be certainly a line.”
“When you talk about what happened the other day, you’re talking about treason. You’re talking about overthrowing the government. That’s what this is. If that doesn’t rise to the level of expulsion, what does?” said Tim Gosar.
Grijalva’s office confirmed to the Republic that it had received the letter but stressed that Grijalva was most focused on holding President Trump accountable.
“I am first and foremost focused on removing the President from office as soon as possible,” said Grijalva in a statement. “But we must not overlook the role that some Members of Congress played in promoting the baseless conspiracy theories that led to Wednesday’s siege of the Capitol. It’s no secret that some threw gasoline on an already-raging fire.”
Grijalva added, “If a Member of Congress willingly violated their oath of office and tacitly encouraged a mob to overturn the results of democratic elections, their actions should be investigated and they should face consequences. If that includes expulsion, so be it.”
In 2018, David Gosar and five other siblings publicly endorsed Paul Gosar’s opponent, David Brill, saying their brother “appears to be getting more and more extreme” says “bizarre things.”
Gosar, along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), offered the objection to Arizona’s Electoral College vote on Wednesday. Debate on the objections was interrupted when a mob breached the Capitol. It resumed, and the objections were defeated 303-121 in the House and 93-6 in the Senate.
Lawmakers have lambasted the dozen senators and more than a hundred House members who had vowed to object to the counting of the electoral votes, accusing the lawmakers of stoking the flames of conspiracy theories about voter fraud that incited the Capitol rioters.