In today's not-at-all-surprising news, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to be a Parkland "truther."
The allegations stem from a 2018 Facebook interaction regarding the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Media Matters was the first to point out that the newly elected GOP congresswoman had shared a Fox News article about Scot Peterson, the school's ex-resource officer who was arrested for failing to confront the Parkland gunman who ultimately killed 17 people.Â
"HOW was this POS💩 getting paid $101K per year?!" Greene wrote in response to Peterson's reported salary. "AND WHY is he receiving $8,702 a month as his retirement pension???!!! WHAT is going on in Parkland, Fla???"
Another user took to the comments section, claiming the pension was "a pay off to keep his mouth shut since it was a false flag planned shooting."
Greene's response? "Exactly."
In the weeks following the Parkland massacre, far-right conspiracy theorists claimed the shooting was an "inside job" intended to push for more gun control. Greene promoted this baseless theory in another 2018 Facebook post: "I am told that Nancy Pelosi tells Hillary Clinton several times a month that ‘we need another school shooting’ in order to persuade the public to want strict gun control."
David Hogg and Cameron Kasky are among the Parkland survivors who are now calling for Greene's resignation.
"She should be removed, she should be punished," Kasky said to BuzzFeed News. "[But] it’s probably not going to happen."
The unearthed Facebook comments come just days after Twitter temporarily suspended Greene for violating its policies against misinformation. The move was seemingly prompted by a tweet thread in which Greene—known to propagate QAnon conspiracy theories—claimed there was election fraud in her state. The tweet was slapped with the following label: "This claim about election fraud is disputed, and this Tweet can’t be replied to, retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence."
Greene criticized the 12-hour Twitter suspension in a statement provided to CNN.
"Conservative Americans shouldn't be afraid to speak their mind," she wrote. "They shouldn't have to fear being cancelled by American corporations where they work, do business, and use services. They shouldn't be scared into submission by Socialists who want to end their way of life."
