In a speech to the House plenary on Thursday, majority leader Steny Hoyer held up a sign showing a Facebook post by then-House candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene, which has since been removed. The picture shows MP GOP Greene posing with a gun alongside pictures of Democratic MPs Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
Video transcription
STENY HOYER: Mr President, I ask my colleagues to look at this image. I heard about motherhood today. Two of these women have six children. They are mothers. One of them has no children. And she came to this body asking for more housing for people, more health for people, more income for people.
What a horrible thing. And they are not The Squad. They are Ilhan, they are Alexandria and they are Rashida. They are people. They are our colleagues. And yes, you can have differences. But I don’t know anyone, including Steve King, that you barred from participating in committees for much less.
And this is an AR-15 in the hands of Mrs. Greene. That was on Facebook just a few months ago. This is a message of peace and reconciliation and peaceful democratic dialogue. The squad’s worst enemy, AR-15, at hand.
– Sounds like the gun [INAUDIBLE].
STENY HOYER: I’ve never seen this before. Is this an event that sets a precedent? This is. Because the conduct, the tweeting, the QAnon Association, I heard QAnon’s refusal. I learned more.
AR-15, the squad’s worst nightmare. Is that what it was intended to do, that each of these ladies had a nightmare with someone with a gun, an AR-15, can carry up to 60 bullets? I urge my colleagues to look at this image and tell me what message do you think it sends.