Steve King’s Facebook Page Mocks Parkland Survivors
Emma Gonzalez a pawn for “liberal media’s gun-grabbing agenda,” Iowa Republican says
Rep. Steve King’s Facebook page mocked survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, as they led a march in Washington over the weekend to call for action on gun violence.
The Iowa Republican’s campaign page in one image singled out student Emma Gonzalez, who is Cuban-American.
“This is how you look when you claim Cuban heritage yet you don’t speak Spanish and ignore the fact that your ancestors fled the island when the dictatorship turned Cuba into a prison camp, after removing all weapons from its citizens; hence the right to self-defense,” the image read.
Gonzalez was one of many survivors of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who spearheaded the “March for Our Lives” event on Saturday in Washington.
Watch: ‘Vote Them Out:’ Thousands March on Washington to Protest Inaction on Gun Violence
Gonzalez led a moment of silence during her appearance in memory of the 17 people killed.
King’s Facebook page also liked comments that compared Gonzalez and fellow Parkland student David Hogg to communists, the New York Daily News reported.
In the comments section, King’s social media team defended its criticism of Gonzalez.
“No one is saying she doesn’t have the right to speak, so nice straw man argument,” the team said. “However, when you willfully allow yourself to be used as a pawn for the liberal media’s gun-grabbing agenda, expect people to call you out on it.”
King also posted a tweet from conservative activist Jack Posobiec, who has promoted numerous conspiracy theories, including one about slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich and another about Democrats running a child sex ring out of a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Posobiec has also been previously affiliated with white nationalist Richard Spencer.
King is known for making racially inflammatory remarks. In December, he tweeted, “Diversity is not our strength,” while quoting nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as saying, “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one.”
