The family of 17-year-old student activist David Hogg has gone to the FBI after receiving death threats on social media. Hogg survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, and has since been an advocate for gun control reform.
Hogg’s mother, Rebecca Boldrick, shared that she received a particularly disturbing comment on one of her Facebook photos, from an NRA supporter, TMZ reported. The message read, “You can change your settings, but you can never change your faces, your whole family is exposed because of your piece of shit kid, btw his whole plan has backfired on him, i’m sure his birthday celebration will be an interesting event… fuck you and him God Bless the NRA and the right to bear arms, wrong crowd to fuck with idiotsticks.”
She then went to the FBI, since the Hoggs are viewing such messages as death threats. Another Facebook message read, “You should have had an abortion. Your son is a psychopathic douche bag. Drive the whole family over a cliff, just admit failure.”
TMZ has confirmed that the Hoggs family contacted the FBI; Hogg’s father is also a former FBI agent. Hogg’s mother has contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, since the first aforementioned Facebook threat came from a Canadian native.
According to TMZ, “the family understands that, while some people don’t agree with their anti-gun message, that shouldn't give them the right to threaten or intimidate her family, particularly through social media. She says any threats they receive will have consequences.”
Hoggs most recently called for tourists to boycott visiting Florida for spring break, so legislators will be forced to revise gun control policy in his home state. Many companies have also cut ties with the NRA after the Florida mass shooting left 17 dead and 14 injured.
