NRA attacked shooting survivor for months — now he's being terrorized

A hoax phone call led police to the home of Stoneman Douglas High student David Hogg in what could have been a disastrous event. Hogg has been attacked by the NRA, Republican politicians, and right-wing media relentlessly after he became a gun safety advocate.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said police were called to Hogg’s home with a phony claim that someone broke into the house. The caller said that the person had an AR-15 rifle and was holding the family hostage.

Schools in the area were even put on lockdown after the hoax call. Luckily for the Hogg family, nobody was at home at the time.

The reference to an AR-15 in the call is notable because Hogg and other members of the March for Our Lives movement have called for a ban on the AR-15 and similar assault rifles.

In a comment to Buzzfeed, Hogg said, “The main thing I would say is they’re trying to distract us from the March for Our Lives ‘Road to Change,’ which is the largest youth voter registration push in American history.”

Parkland mayor Christine Hunschofsky released a statement slamming the call. She said, “Taking your political disagreements to the level of creating chaos for an entire community is repulsive. We are better than that.”

The hoax phone call is part of a harassment tactic called “swatting.” Hoaxers make up a story about a dangerous situation that prompts a response from the police. Because the level of danger is high, innocent people have been hurt and killed from police responding to swatting calls.

The hoax call could have put the lives of Hogg and his family in jeopardy.

Since the school shooting, Hogg and the other teenage survivors have become targets of scorn for the NRA and their allies.

NRA board member Ted Nugent recently described the students as “soulless” liars and said their push for gun control was “committing spiritual suicide.” Nugent said, “the evidence is irrefutable, they have no soul.”

Republican officials have also gone after the Parkland teens. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) used his Facebook account to smear student Emma Gonzalez, who famously said “we call B.S.” to the opposition to gun reform.

Other Republican officials at the state level referred to Hogg as a “moron” and “baldfaced liar.” Another official compared the teenagers to the Nazi regime.

Donald Trump Jr. has approved of tweets that promoted a conspiracy theory claiming Hogg was “coached” to speak out in favor of gun safety.

The right-wing media, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have also peddled lies about the Parkland teens and personally attacked them.

The teenagers have been painted as public enemy number one by the NRA and its fellow travelers. Now, the Hogg family has been targeted with a deadly attack.