David Hogg, a gun control activist and survivor of the mass school shooting in Parkland more than four years ago, was escorted out of a House committee meeting after an outburst accusing lawmakers of relying on racist talking points to hold up their pro-gun beliefs.
The House Judiciary Committee was in the midst of a hearing about a ban on assault weapons on Wednesday when Hogg interrupted the discourse. He was seemingly set off by comments made by Rep. Andy Biggs, who suggested semi-automatic rifles are necessary to guard against an “invasion on our southern border.”
“You are reiterating the points of mass shooters in your manifesto,” Hogg shouted as he jumped to his feet. “The shooter at my high school: antisemitic, anti-Black and racist. The shooter in El Paso described it as an invasion.”
“Guess where those guns are coming from? The United States of America,” he added. “They aren’t coming from Mexico. You are reiterating the points of a mass shooter, sir.”
Hogg later retweeted a clip of security escorting him from the chamber.
“The gun in Parkland, Buffalo, El Paso didn’t come from Mexico,” he emphasized. “They came from the US and the shooters were inspired by racist, anti-black, anti-immigrant manifestos that rhyme with GOP talking points.”
Hogg graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, just months after student gunman Nikolas Cruz killed 17 teachers and students in a mass shooting on Feb. 14. He earned international attention for sharing video of the attack in real time.
The bill under discussion at Wednesday’s hearing would ban the sale, import, manufacture or transfer of certain semi-automatic weapons. It was introduced by Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who played audio from recordings made amid the massacre at Parkland.
