- Florida shooting survivor David Hogg asked members of the National Rifle Association directly whether they believe a prominent spokeswoman for the group truly represents them or the gun lobby.
- He said he thought mistakes may have been made in the law enforcement response to the shooting, but that he had great respect for police officers.
- Hogg has been the target of a baseless social media conspiracy theory that alleges he is a "crisis actor," not an actual high school student.
David Hogg, the Florida school shooting survivor-turned-activist who has recently been the target of vicious smear campaigns on social media, called out National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch about her true loyalties on Sunday.
He appeared on ABC's "This Week" to talk to host George Stephanopoulos about progress on gun safety legislation.
Hogg, who is 17-years-old, looked into the camera and directly addressed NRA members about the group's leadership.
"Look at Dana. Look at what she saying. Is she actually saying anything, or is that just a tone to distract the American public and distract her NRA members from the fact that she's not serving them? She is serving the gun manufacturers," Hogg said. "She's not serving the people of the NRA, because the people that are joining the NRA, 99.9% of them are amazing people that just want to be safe, responsible gun owners. And I fully can support that."
Loesch had appeared on "This Week" right before him and also at CNN's town hall last week. She has voiced the NRA's opposition to raising the age at which people can buy guns, and shifted the focus from her group to the Broward County Sheriff's department for their alleged inaction as the shooting was unfolding.
"I wish that as much attention were given to the Broward County Sheriff and their abdication of duty as trying to blame five million innocent, law-abiding gun owners all across the country," she said on Sunday.
Hogg responded to these claims in his interview.
"I know that the people that work in law enforcement are some of the hardest working individuals in America," he told Stephanopoulos. "I know that they work every single day to protect the lives and the innocence of American school children and the American public in general. Were there mistakes made? Absolutely. Is anything going to change? I certainly hope so, but this is something we can't go back and change now. We just have to look to the future and fix it."
In the wake of the Florida school shooting that killed 17 people, Hogg has been the focus of conspiracy theories that claim he is not a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but instead a "crisis actor" who has been employed by CNN to push an anti-gun narrative.
Such claims lack evidence, and mimic accusations made after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut when right-wingers claimed some of the grieving parents and family members were actors, too.
Hogg responded to these claims on CNN late last week.
"I'm not a crisis actor," Hogg told CNN. "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."
Watch a clip of Hogg's interview below:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas student @davidhogg111 on the NRA's opposition to gun control: "It's just disgusting. They act like they don't own these politicians. They still do… they've gotten gun legislation passed before in their favor, in favor of gun manufacturers." #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/QBXBAMQKMS
- This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 25, 2018