NV Independent: Titus backs the expulsion of QAnon-supporting Georgia Republican congresswomanNV Independent: Titus backs the expulsion of QAnon-supporting Georgia Republican congresswoman
Las Vegas, NV,
January 29, 2021
|
Humberto Sanchez
Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus joined an effort to expel Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the U.S. House after the discovery of a series of controversial social media posts, including ones where she said the Oct. 1 shooting in Las Vegas was staged and liked comments calling for violence against Democrats.
Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus joined an effort to expel Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the U.S. House after the discovery of a series of controversial social media posts, including ones where she said the Oct. 1 shooting in Las Vegas was staged and liked comments calling for violence against Democrats.
“I did not make this decision lightly,” Titus said. “In my ten years of public service in the U.S. House of Representatives, I have never called for the removal of anyone from Congress. This time is different.” Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California launched the effort Wednesday when he began circulating the resolution to expel Greene. Gomez's office said that 36 Democratic lawmakers have signed on to the support the resolution as of about noon Eastern time Friday, "but that grows every hour," said Gomez spokesman Eric Harris. Later Friday, Rep. Steven Horsford said he too "supports measures up to and including expulsion" for Greene, according to his spokeswoman Geneva Kropper. Horsford also "believes the House Ethics Committee needs to take up a review of the allegations against Rep. Greene to protect all members, staff, and the institution of the House of Representatives itself," Kropper said. A spokesperson for Rep. Susie Lee, Zoe Sheppard, said, "Congresswoman Lee has no interest in elevating this conspiracy theorist turned congresswoman, and will not be commenting further at this time." Rep. Mark Amodei, the state's lone Republican, said through his office that "should Rep. Gomez’s resolution be something that comes up for a vote, we’ll do our due diligence on the issue and comment then." The resolution was spurred by a report from CNN on posts from January 2019, where Greene, who backs the QAnon conspiracy theory, liked a comment that said "a bullet to the head would be quicker" to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and another where she appeared to endorse violence against President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. At Pelosi’s weekly press conference Thursday, when asked about members feeling more concerned about their safety, she said that the “enemy is within the House of Representatives.” Asked to clarify the comment, Pelosi said, “It means that we have members of Congress that want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress.” After the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Pelosi had magnetometers installed outside the House floor. Some members have tried to bring guns on the floor and have refused to go through the magnetometers. Members are allowed to carry guns on Capitol grounds, but not on the floor. In another post, Greene contended that the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas was staged by gun control advocates. “Congresswoman Greene has encouraged executing politicians who disagree with her,” Titus said in a release. “Her presence on the House floor is a legitimate security concern. She made the deranged allegation that 1 October – the darkest day in our city’s history – was a government plot.” Fifty-eight people lost their lives that day and more than 850 people were injured after Stephen Paddock shot more than 1,100 rounds from a 32nd-floor window of the Mandalay Bay into the crowd. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Greene has also alleged that the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was staged. “The victims’ families, the survivors, and our first responders deserve far better than having that vile ignorance spewed in the halls of Congress,” Titus continued. “She has openly embraced similarly disgraceful conspiracy theories about September 11th and the Parkland school shooting.” This story was updated on Friday Jan. 29, 2021, at 10:25 a.m. to include comments from Eric Harris, spokesman for Rep. Jimmy Gomez. This story was updated on Friday Jan. 29, 2021, at 6:12 p.m. to include comments from the offices of Rep. Steven Horsford and Rep. Susie Lee. This story was updated Tuesday Feb. 2, 2021, at 8:36 a.m. to include comments from Rep. Mark Amodei's office. |