WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A freshman congresswoman who has voiced her support for QAnon conspiracy theories is facing backlash after she was seen on video verbally attacking Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg.
Cellphone video shows U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., following Hogg near the U.S. Capitol, questioning him about the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre that killed 17 people and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
"David, why are you supporting the red-flag laws?" she asks in the video. "If there had been -- if Scot Peterson, the resource officer at Parkland, had done his job then Nikolas Cruz wouldn't have killed anybody in your high school, or at least protected them. Why are you supporting red-flag gun laws that attack our Second Amendment right and why are you using kids as a barrier? Do you not know how to defend your stance?"
After Hogg seems to ignore her, Greene turns and speaks to the camera.
"He's got nothing to say. Sad," she says. "He has nothing to say because there really isn't anything to say, you guys. He has nothing to say because he's paid to do this."
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Hogg, 20, has become an outspoken gun control activist since the Parkland massacre.
The cellphone video was posted to the congresswoman's YouTube page Jan. 21, but the video was recorded in March 2019.
Hogg told CNN that Greene was just "trying to get a rise out of me."
"Can I just point out how ridiculous it is that it's on the survivors of gun violence to stand up to gun violence and be the ones to try end to it? Why do we have elected officials if that's the case? Why can't they do their jobs?" Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg says. pic.twitter.com/Vw1LAouO32
— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2021
"You know, sometimes it's just, you know, as I was told growing up, it's just better not to respond to bullies and just walk away," Hogg said.
Greene defeated Democratic candidate Kevin Van Ausdal in the November election and was sworn into office earlier this month wearing a face mask in support of then-President Donald Trump.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the mass shooting, recently called out Greene on Twitter.
.@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.pic.twitter.com/aQjL74x7kh
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) January 27, 2021
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., accused Greene of calling the Parkland shooting a hoax and endorsing executing members of Congress.
Prior to her election, @mtgreenee spent her free time harassing Parkland survivors, calling the #MSD shooting a hoax, and endorsed executing Congress members. Her blatant lies and irresponsible acts are dangerous, repulsive and demand swift consequences from the US House. https://t.co/0CYn8TnM3q
— Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@RepDWStweets) January 27, 2021
"Her blatant lies and irresponsible acts are dangerous, repulsive and demand swift consequences from the U.S. House," Wasserman Schultz said.
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., whose district includes Parkland, encouraged Parkland survivors to "confront members of Congress about their cowardice and failure to act."
I saw the pain this tragedy brought & the trauma that continues even today in our community.
— Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) January 27, 2021
I encouraged the survivors to come to DC to confront Members of Congress about their cowardice and failure to act.
I know they'll be back to confront these cruel, despicable lies. https://t.co/iW8rdiJege
"I know they'll be back to confront these cruel, despicable lies," he said.
