GOP Florida State Rep Aide Claims Parkland Shooting Survivors Are Paid Actors

An aide to Florida state Rep. Shawn Harrison claimed that the Parkland shooting survivors appearing on television are paid actors and not real students.

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The Tampa Bay Times reported on an email that aide Benjamin Kelly sent to their newspaper:

“Both kids in the picture are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis when they happen.” Asked for backup to that claim, Kelly sent another email with a link to a YouTube conspiracy video about one of the students.

“There is a clip on you tube that shows Mr. Hogg out in California. (I guess he transferred?),” Kelly’s email read.

Kelly has since been “placed on leave” Harrison:

The appropriate course of action should begin with the word you’re and end with the word fired.

The Parkland students are being smeared by far-right media all over the Internet. Conspiracy theories are popping up everywhere and they are being like by Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter:

As the far-right smears Parkland survivors, keep in mind that the NRA is under investigation by FBI for potentially laundering Russian money into the Trump campaign. This isn’t just about guns. There is an added dimension of a Trump/Russia/NRA connection that the right-wing conspiracies are designed to keep quiet. The right will do anything to protect Trump and the NRA, including smearing survivors of a mass shooting.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association