Republican Lawmaker Mocks Parkland Survivor Over Marjorie Taylor Greene Video

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) mocked Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting survivor David Hogg for ignoring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as she harassed him and called him a coward in widely-shared video.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-GA) right, and Lauren Boebert, (R-CO), are seen during a group photo with freshmen members of the House Republican Conference on the House steps of the Capitol on Monday, January 4, 2021. | Getty Images
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-GA) right, and Lauren Boebert, (R-CO), are seen during a group photo with freshmen members of the House Republican Conference on the House steps of the Capitol on Monday, January 4, 2021. | Getty Images

Newly elected Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) this week defended her QAnon-promoting conspiracy theorist colleague Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Twitter by mocking a Parkland school shooting survivor.

Earlier this week, video footage from March 2019 in Washington, D.C., was shared on Twitter of Greene harassing David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland, Florida, and a high-profile young gun reform activist. After the video was widely shared across social media, Hogg posted more footage of Greene following him and other young activists around Capitol Hill.

In the initial video, Greene repeatedly harasses Hogg, and brings up the shooting incident that left 17 of his classmates dead. Hogg ignores Greene and continues walking as she follows and says, ā€œYou canā€™t defend your stance?ā€ 

ā€œHowā€™d you get over 30 appointments with Senators? Howā€™d you do that?ā€ Greene continued, later adding that Hogg met with multiple Senators. ā€œThe best way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.ā€

Greene later said into the camera: ā€œHeā€™s a coward. He canā€™t say one word because he canā€™t defend his stance.ā€ 

In the second video shared by Hogg, Greene can be heard questioning Hogg and the group of people with him as they walked through the Capitol building, saying ā€œHow do you get so much media coverage for your group? Who pays for this?ā€ 

The group interrupted Greeneā€™s rambling by chanting, ā€œEnough is enough!ā€

Boebert got involved after Hogg tweeted that Greene and Boebert were the ā€œreal threatsā€ of the Capitol. The tweet prompted Boebert to quote-tweet and mock Hogg for not responding to Greeneā€™s incessant badgering in the 2019 video:

Boebert has recently attracted attention for saying she will carry her glock with her at all times following the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 ā€” to the consternation of local police and Capitol security. She faced calls for her resignation after she tweeted information about House Speaker Nancy Pelosiā€™s location during the insurrection. Boebert also has ties to far-right militia groups, according to the New York Times.

During her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi ripped into Greene and House Republicans by saying the ā€œenemy is within the House of Representativesā€ and called Greeneā€™s assignment to the House Education and Labor Committee ā€œappalling.ā€ Greene has reportedly supported conspiracy theories about the Parkland and the Sandy Hook shootings being staged. CNN reported earlier this week that Greene liked comments in 2018 and 2019 on Facebook about executing Democratic leaders including Pelosi, former President Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Greene was elected to Congress in 2020.

ā€œWe have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress,ā€ Pelosi said.

Pelosi continued: ā€œWhat I'm concerned about is the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives who are willing to overlook, ignore those statements, assigning her to the Education Committee when she has mocked the killing of little children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when she mocked the killing of teenagers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. What could they be thinking?ā€

Pelosi and other lawmakers including House Education Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) are criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for Greeneā€™s appointment.

ā€œHouse Republicans made this appointment and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy must explain how someone with this background represents the Republican party on education issues,ā€ Scott wrote in a statement. ā€œHe is sending a clear message to students, parents, and educators about the views of the Republican party.ā€