Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, mocked school shooting survivor David Hogg on social media Thursday, sparking condemnation and fresh calls from her removal from Congress.
Mr. Hogg, a survivor of the deadly 2017 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, started the Twitter spat in a posting he made on the platform earlier Thursday evening.
Reacting to reports about new fencing being considered around the U.S. Capitol, Mr. Hogg said the proposed security measure would not stop “the real threats” posed by some Republicans remaining in office.
Mr. Hogg, a gun control activist ever since surviving the shooting at 17, said the Capitol will not be safe until the GOP “takes a stand” against Ms. Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
“Give your keyboard a rest, child,” Ms. Bobert, 34, replied to Mr. Hogg, 20.
Ms. Bobert also seemed to reference a video widely shared online this week showing Ms. Greene, prior to running for Congress, badgering a teenage Mr. Hogg as he walked near the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
“David, please,” Ms. Boerbrt said in the tweet. “We all saw how tough you were when questioned face to face.”
Mr. Hogg subsequently fired back in a series of tweets slamming both Ms. Boebert and Ms. Greene, each freshman Republicans adamantly opposed to stricter gun laws sought by the activists and others.
“Sorry I was a little more worried about MTG not shooting my friends and staff with her concealed gun she was threatening us with than responding to your evil twin,” Mr. Hogg tweeted to Ms. Boebert.
“It’s a little thing called deescalation you probably haven’t heard of it,” Mr. Hogg added.
Days after being sworn in, Ms. Boebert and Ms. Greene were among Republicans who objected to Congress certifying the electoral votes officially recognizing the results of the recent presidential race.
Along with former President Trump, among some other Republicans, both congresswomen have also been vocal proponents of baseless claims about election fraud amplified in the weeks after the race ended.
Supporters of Mr. Trump ultimately stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, the day Congress was meeting to certify his loss to President Biden, resulting in the deaths of a police officer and four others.
Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman, who assumed the role shortly after the insurrection, recommended earlier Thursday making vast improvements to the area, including permanent fencing.
Mr. Hogg, whose verified Twitter account is followed by roughly one million others, was hardly the only critic of Ms. Boebert to hammer at her on social media over the exchange Thursday.
“This is quite possibly one of the most deplorable moments on social media by a sitting elected official. A gun toting, insurrectionist enabler, talking down to a school shooting survivor,” tweeted Olivia Troye, a former Trump administration official who became a vocal critic of the former president and his policies since leaving the White House in August. “Not today. Not ever. Resign.”
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was among the student fatally shot at Parkland, was less reserved in his response, meanwhile. Tagging the congresswoman’s account on Twitter, Mr. Guttenberg tweeted: “@laurenboebert, you miserable, vile fraud. How dare you. You are nothing but a vile human being who has no idea the definition of toughness. You were elected on a lie. Carrying a gun and telling everyone you do does not make you tough, it makes you pathetic and weak.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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