Newly-elected Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has quickly emerged as a lightning rod of controversy in Congress.
The 46-year-old political newcomer, who was elected to represent Georgia’s 14th District last November, won office despite expressing racist views and support for QAnon online – a far-right apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory promoted by some right-wing extremists whose followers believe, among other things, that thousands of deep state operatives and top Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will be rounded up and sent to Guantanamo Bay during an event called "The Storm."
Greene was embroiled in yet another controversy this week after CNN reported on Tuesday that the Congresswoman had expressed support for the execution of several prominent Democratic lawmakers in 2018 and 2019 via her social media channels.
In one instance, the CNN report alleges that Greene liked a Facebook comment saying "a bullet to the head would be quicker" to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from office.
The report also addresses an alleged Facebook post from 2018, in which Greene appeared to criticise the Iran Deal, a significant policy achievement made under former President Barack Obama. A commenter appeared to ask if “we get to hang them,” in reference to Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off,” Greene reportedly replied.
Soon after the piece was published, Greene took to Twitter to decry what she deemed "yet another hit piece on me focused on my time before running for political office."
"Over the years, I’ve had teams of people manage my pages. Many posts have been liked. Many posts have been shared. Some did not represent my views," Greene’s statement continued, adding: "Especially the ones that CNN is about to spread across the internet."
Greene said CNN is "taking old Facebook posts from random users to try to cancel me and silence my voice," but did not specify which posts she was referencing.
Greene’s denial did not stop Democrats from calling for her removal from Congress.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) said on Wednesday that he will introduce a resolution to expel Greene from Congress, citing the CNN report, as well as a video that appears to show Greene following Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor David Hogg, peppering him with questions and calling him a "coward."
“As if it weren’t enough to amplify conspiracy theories that the September 11 attacks were an inside job and the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was staged, a string of recent media reports has now confirmed that Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had previously supported social media posts calling for political violence against the Speaker of the House, members of Congress, and former President Barack Obama,” Rep. Gomez said in a statement.
"Her very presence in office represents a direct threat against the elected officials and staff who serve our government," Rep. Gomez added, "And it is with their safety in mind, as well as the security of institutions and public servants across our country, that I call on my House colleagues to support my resolution to immediately remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from this legislative body."
Rev. Raphael Warnock, a newly-elected Senator also representing Georgia, called Greene’s reported rhetoric "dangerous and unacceptable for a member of Congress."
"We're entrusted to serve and represent all of our constituents," Warnock continued. "This extreme and violent rhetoric only fans the flames of division, and we've just seen how deadly those flames can be."
Hillary Clinton, a target of Greene’s reported ire, similarly responded to reports of Greene’s comments on Twitter, writing: "This woman should be on a watch list. Not in Congress."
Despite her denials and clarifications, Greene’s reported comments may have political ramifications for the new lawmaker. A spokesperson for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Axios the GOP leader is concerned about the remarks.
"These comments are deeply disturbing and Leader McCarthy plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them," the statement read.
Spectrum News has reached out to McCarthy for comment.
If McCarthy does choose to take punitive action against Greene, it wouldn’t be the first time the lawmaker publicly reprimanded a member of his own party over their incendiary remarks.
In early 2019, McCarthy blocked Republican Rep. Steve King from committee assignments after King lamented that white supremacy and white nationalism had become offensive terms. At the time, McCarthy called King’s remarks “beneath the dignity of the Party of Lincoln and the United States of America.”
While it remains to be seen whether McCarthy will reprimand Greene, the new Congresswoman has already seen her fair share of controversy during her short time in office.
In mid-January, Greene's Twitter account was temporarily suspended after she repeatedly espoused baseless claims of election fraud.
On Jan. 17, Greene posted a clip from an interview with a local news outlet in which she condemned Georgia election officials and expressed support for debunked theories claiming that voting machines, absentee ballots and other issues led to widespread fraud in the state during the presidential election.
Twitter responded to the tweet, and others, with a message that called the election fraud claim “disputed,” and saying it posed “a risk of violence.”
The action came a little more than a week after Twitter banned Trump from the platform, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence” following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol several weeks prior.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.