David Hogg, the 17-year-old student who has become an outspoken advocate for gun control following a shooting at his school, is blasting Donald Trump Jr. for giving credence to social media posts that suggest he and other students are being coached or are plants for liberal groups.
“I just think it’s a testament to the sick immaturity and broken state of our government when these people feel the need to pedal conspiracy theories about people that were in a school shooting where 17 people died and it just makes me sick,” Hogg told BuzzFeed News.
“It’s immature, rude, and inhuman for these people to destroy the people trying to prevent the death of the future of America because they won’t.”
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Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Trump, “liked” a tweet this week that linked to an article suggesting that Hogg had been “coached” by his father, a former FBI agent, to speak out against the president and gun rights.
Trump Jr. also liked another tweet linking to an article that referred to Hogg as “the kid who has been running his mouth about how Donald Trump and the GOP are teaming up to help murder high school kids by upholding the Second Amendment.”
The tweets came days after a gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale, killing 17 people and injuring 14 others.
The shooting has renewed calls for lawmakers to tighten gun restrictions, and Stoneman Douglas students, including Hogg, have emerged as some of the most vocal advocates.
“We’re children,” Hogg said in an interview on CNN last week. “You guys are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together. Come over your politics and get something done.”
Hogg also blasted President Trump’s criticisms of the FBI following the shooting, calling the president’s comments “disgusting.”
“I think it’s disgusting, personally. My father’s a retired FBI agent and the FBI are some of the hardest working individuals I have ever seen in my life,” Hogg said on CNN.
“It’s wrong that the president is blaming them for this.”
Trump has been in a feud with the FBI over the special counsel’s investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election. Trump over the weekend said the FBI’s focus on Russia was a factor in its failure to not follow up on a tip on the shooter at the Florida high school.
Hogg and other students have also been targeted online, mostly by conservative websites, who suggest they are being used by liberal groups backed by George Soros to attack gun rights. No evidence to support such theories has been offered.