US Senator Ted Cruz has accused the head of America’s broadcast regulator of acting like “a mafioso” in the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel – the sharpest attack yet from a conservative Republican on the controversy.‎‎

He said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr’s threat to ABC over their comedian’s monologue about slain conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was “dangerous as hell”. ‎‎

“That’s right out of Goodfellas,” the Texas Republican said, as he affected a mobster’s accent.‎‎

Other Republicans in Congress have been more muted in their criticism of how the FCC pressed Disney-owned ABC to take action on Kimmel, who was indefinitely suspended on Wednesday.‎‎

The row started after Kimmel appeared to suggest in his monologue on Monday night that the alleged gunman charged with murdering Kirk was a Maga Republican, although authorities in Utah have said the suspect was “indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.‎‎

Before ABC’s decision, Carr said there would be consequences if Kimmel stayed on air. The FCC chairman said that Kimmel was “appearing to directly mislead the American public” in his on-air remarks.-BBC