A video of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing David Hogg about his support for gun control measures is attracting millions of views on social media. Hogg was on Capitol Hill for meetings with senators when Greene confronted him about his support for red flag laws.
Hogg was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when a gunman opened fire inside the building on February 14, 2018, killing 17 people. He and his fellow classmates became activists for stricter gun control measures after the mass shooting and launched the “March for our Lives” movement.
The video circulated online on January 27 but it’s unclear exactly when it was recorded. Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the attack, wrote on Twitter that Greene had confronted Hogg just weeks after the 2018 shooting. Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath shared the video on Twitter in November 2019 and slammed Greene for her actions. Greene posted the clip on YouTube in January 2020 to argue that she was defending second amendment rights.
Here’s what you need to know:
Greene Called Hogg a Coward for Refusing to Talk to Her as She Accused Him of Infringing on 2nd Amendment Rights
.@mtgreenee, is this you harassing @davidhogg111 weeks after the Parkland shooting, that my daughter was killed in & he was in? Calling him a coward for ignoring your insanity. I will answer all of your questions in person. Get ready to record again.
Greene was elected to Congress during the 2020 election but she was a private citizen when she confronted Hogg on Capitol Hill. In the video, she asks Hogg why he supports red flag laws and accuses him of attacking second amendment rights. (Red flag laws allow judges to temporarily take guns away from a person if law enforcement officials and/or family members have a legitimate reason to believe that person poses a risk to themselves or to others. As NPR reported, these measures are widely supported among both Democrats and Republicans).
Greene also discusses the massacre at Parkland without expressing any compassion or sympathy for Hogg, who survived the attack and lost friends that day. Green argues that if Scot Peterson, the school resource officer, “had done his job,” the shooter “wouldn’t have killed anyone at your school.” She goes on, “If school zones were protected with security guards with guns, there would be no mass shootings at schools.” Greene adds, “The best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
Hogg does not respond to Greene. The video shows Hogg kept walking alongside the two women with him as Greene accuses him of being unable to defend his stance.
After Hogg and the two women manage to walk away, Greene turns back to the camera and complains about Hogg having greater access to lawmakers than she did. She claims Hogg had approximately 30 meetings with senators while Greene couldn’t secure one meeting. Without providing any evidence to support her unsubstantiated claim, Greene also accuses Hogg of being paid by left-wing groups. As the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported, the idea that billionaire investor George Soros funds liberal movements has been a right-wing conspiracy theory for many years and is “especially popular among anti-Semites.”
“He had media coverage all over the place. I had zero. Guess what, I’m a gun owner. I’m an American citizen and I have nothing. But this guy with his George Soros funding and his major liberal funding has got everything. I want you to think about that,” Greene says. “That’s where we are and he’s a coward he can’t say one word because he can’t defend his stance. Because there is no defense for taking away guns. There is no defense for gun confiscation.”
Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg was among those who highlighted the video on Twitter on January 27. He tagged Greene in his post and asked her, “Is this you harassing @davidhogg111 weeks after the Parkland shooting, that my daughter was killed in & he was in? Calling him a coward for ignoring your insanity. I will answer all of your questions in person. Get ready to record again.”
Hogg Described Greene as a Bully & Wrote on Twitter That He & His Friends Speak Out Because Lawmakers Have Failed to Protect Students
You think we want to be doing this ?@mtgreenee
Fuck no- I’d much rather be able to be a college student but I & others can’t & you know why?
Bc corrupt politicians like you have made it so it’s on the survivors of Gun violence to end gun violence bc you can’t do your damn job
Hogg did not respond to Greene that day but he had plenty to share on Twitter when the video resurfaced on January 27. Hogg stated that being harassed for supporting gun control measures has become a regular occurrence.
He directly addressed Greene about why he has been speaking out to try to stop deadly gun violence: “You think we want to be doing this? F*** no- I’d much rather be able to be a college student but I & others can’t & you know why? Bc corrupt politicians like you have made it so it’s on the survivors of Gun violence to end gun violence bc you can’t do your damn job.”
Hogg added, “Everyday we are forced to act and fight through all our trauma to fight for those that can’t because they were killed due to people like you refusing to do your job and protect kids not guns. Also the thousands I’ve had to spend on of threapy due to the trauma from the shooting and due to harassment and threats like this but also so much worse is absolutely ridiculous.”
Hogg also addressed Greene’s question about how he was able to secure meetings with lawmakers by stating that he and his fellow activists were better advocates than Greene. He wrote in one tweet, “When pissed off young people do their job so well as 19 lobbyists the only conclusion you come to is that they are funded by Soros Face with tears of joy.” He also wrote, “Lmao how embarrassing a sitting congresswoman argues that an 18 year old is both a more affective lobbyist and communicator than her.”
Hogg expressed amusement about the idea that he is being funded by an outside group. “For the 8 millionth time… Could someone PLEASE tell me where the ‘millions’ I’ve been ‘paid’ by Soros is? I’d love to have the rest of college and if I go- grad or law school paid for, a nice place for my parents and therapy paid for the rest of my life.”
Greene Claimed the Parkland Shooting Was Staged in a 2018 Facebook Comment
Greene is now representing Georgia’s 4th district in Congress. Her campaign attracted national attention in part because of her support for the Qanon conspiracy theory, the New York Times reported.
Before running for Congress, Greene expressed support for another conspiracy theory claiming that the Parkland shooting had somehow been staged. Media Matters published a screenshot of a comment Greene posted on Facebook in May 2018. Greene had shared a story about Broward County sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson receiving a pension. Another user commented, “It’s called a pay off to keep his mouth shut since it was a false flag planned shooting.” Greene responded, “Exactly!” Another person wrote that Peterson had gone along with an “evil plan” and Greene responded, “Paid to do what he did and keep his mouth shut!”
As Florida Politics reported, Greene has not disavowed those remarks but she did criticize Media Matters for sharing them.
Media Matters also reported that searches of Greene’s social media accounts brings up comments in which she supported the conspiracy theory that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was fake. The outlet also found remarks written by Greene in which she theorized that the 9/11 attacks had been an “inside job.”
According to WLTX-TV, advocacy groups such as March for Our Lives, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action are now demanding that Greene resign from Congress.
On January 26, Greene took to Facebook to defend herself. She wrote in part, “Fake News CNN is writing 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. Especially the ones that CNN is about to spread across the internet. They are taking old Facebook posts from random users to try to cancel me and silence my voice.”
Greene may have been referring to this piece CNN published that day. The network reported that in past Facebook posts, Greene indicated support for executing Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As The Washington Post reported, Greene has taken action against Pelosi before. Citing a since-deleted Facebook post, the newspaper reported that in February 2019, Greene “led a group of Trump supporters into the speaker’s office, where she accused Pelosi of ‘treason’ and suggested she ‘shall suffer death or shall be imprisoned.'”
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