Parents of shooting survivor have received death threats

The parents of one of the young survivors of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 dead say they have received death threats from anti-gun control activists.

David Hogg, 18, ended up taking refuge in a closet during the school massacre. 

Despite the terrifying circumstances, his instinct led him to film interviews with his fellow students while in hiding and the video went viral. 

Parents of Florida school shooting survivor David Hogg have spoken out to say their family  received death threats because he and another survivor were accused of being crisis actors

Hogg's father, Kevin, works for the FBI which have been seen by conspiracy theorists to be anit-Trump. Some have suggested the Hogg's are actors trying to bring down Trump

Hogg’s father, Kevin, works for the FBI which have been seen by conspiracy theorists to be anit-Trump. Some have suggested the Hogg’s are actors trying to bring down Trump

David Hogg (pictured with classmate Kelsey Friend) has faced death threats after urging lawmakers to take action in a number of inspirational interviews outside his school

David Hogg (pictured with classmate Kelsey Friend) has faced death threats after urging lawmakers to take action in a number of inspirational interviews outside his school

Rebecca Boldrick, Hogg's mother said that her family has received numerous threats since conspiracy theories started surfacing that her son was a crisis actor

Rebecca Boldrick, Hogg’s mother said that her family has received numerous threats since conspiracy theories started surfacing that her son was a crisis actor

But his experience in recent days both he and his parents have faced death threats.  

Hogg’s father is a retired FBI agent and right-wing conspiracy theorists believe the agency is behind a shadowy campaign to bring down Trump. 

The FBI is an organization in Trump’s crosshairs over its probe into Russian meddling in his election campaign and the school shooting served as further conspiracy fodder.

A YouTube video presenting the theory was the site’s most shared footage on Tuesday last week with around 200,000 views before it was taken down. 

Senior David Hogg, 18, was in his Environmental Science class when he heard a gunshot ring out. He began to film and interview his classmates to record what was happening

Senior David Hogg, 18, was in his Environmental Science class when he heard a gunshot ring out. He began to film and interview his classmates to record what was happening

Rebecca Boldrick, Hogg’s mother, told The Washington Post that her family has received numerous threats since the conspiracy theories started surfacing, saying, ‘I’m under so much stress.’

‘I’m angry and exhausted,’ she added. ‘Angry, exhausted and extremely proud.’ 

Other bizarre allegations include suggestions the Hogg’s were paid crisis actors on social media under the hashtags #CrisisActors and #ParklandHoax, triggering immediate calls for the accounts to be blocked.

Hogg has been credited for his well-spoken, calm demeanor and well-reasoned thoughts

Hogg has been credited for his well-spoken, calm demeanor and well-reasoned thoughts

The younger teen Hogg who is an aspiring journalist has been attacked and harassed online, and even accused of being a ‘crisis actor’ paid to travel to tragedies to propagate liberal viewpoints.

‘I am not a crisis actor,’ Hogg said. ‘I’m someone who had to witness this and live through this and I continue to be having to do that. I’m not acting on anybody’s behalf.’

During an interview about the suggestions Hogg said: ‘Unlike the people who are tweeting that stuff about me and my dad, I haven’t lost hope in America and my dad hasn’t either.’

‘It’s annoying. I hate it. But it’s part of American democracy,’ Hogg said in an interview with the Post. ‘Am I an actor? No. Am I a witness? Yes.’ 

There had been allegations made that Hogg is in favour of repealing the Second Amendment however he argued that he doesn’t ‘want to take a constitutional right away from American citizens’.

He said that American’s should have access to guns as long as they are mentally stable and don’t have any previous convictions.

Hogg added: ‘We have a right to live just as we have a right to bear arms.’

Cameron Kasky, another of the young survivors of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 dead, has quit Facebook after claiming he too received death threats from anti-gun control activists

Cameron Kasky, another of the young survivors of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 dead, has quit Facebook after claiming he too received death threats from anti-gun control activists

The Hoggs are not the only family to have received threats of violence. 

Cameron Kasky, 17, who created the hashtag #NeverAgain after the massacre at his school wrote on Twitter: ‘Temporarily got off Facebook because there’s no character count so the death threats from the cultists are a bit more graphic than those on Twitter.’ 

On the day of the shooting, Kasky addressed pro-gun advocates with a scathing Facebook post: ‘I’m safe… Thank you to all the second amendment warriors who protected me.’

Two days after shooter Cruz carried out the massacre, Kasky launched the #NeverAgain campaign, urging his supporters to make it go viral – which it did.  

Kasky, 17, created the hashtag #NeverAgain after the February 14 massacre at his school Marjory Douglas Stoneman High in Florida

Kasky, 17, created the hashtag #NeverAgain after the February 14 massacre at his school Marjory Douglas Stoneman High in Florida

Since then, he and fellow survivors have started getting harassed online.   

Kasky and others at the youthful vanguard of the anti-gun campaign plan to create a ‘Badge of Shame’ for politicians who continue to accept money from the National Rifle Association.

‘At this point, any politician on either side who is taking money from the NRA is responsible for events like this,’ Kasky told ABC’s This Week.

‘The NRA is fostering and promoting this gun culture in which people like Nikolas Cruz can gun down 17 innocent lives in our school.’ 

Cruz, 19, was expelled from Marjory Stoneman last February after officials at the high school claimed they documented at least five separate violent incidents involving the Florida native.

The incident marked the eighth time a shooting took place on a school campus involving one person being wounded since the beginning of 2018. 

Survivors of the shooting are planning a March For Our Lives event in Washington, DC, on March 24. 

Kasky, and others at the youthful vanguard of the anti-gun campaign plan to create a 'Badge of Shame' for politicians who continue to accept money from the National Rifle Association

Kasky, and others at the youthful vanguard of the anti-gun campaign plan to create a ‘Badge of Shame’ for politicians who continue to accept money from the National Rifle Association



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