Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) described the Parkland, Fla., school shooting as a “false flag” event in a 2018 Facebook post uncovered by Media Matters.
Greene made the remark while commenting on another user's comment on her own post.
She had initially criticized a police officer, former Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson, who was fired for his response to the shooting, in which 17 people were killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Peterson received a pension when he left the department.
After another person commented on her post that the pension was “a pay off to keep his mouth shut since it was a false flag planned shooting," Greene said in response, “Exactly.”
Green in another post suggested that school shootings were taking place to help Congress pass gun control legislation.
Supporters of gun control legislation argue U.S. gun laws contribute to the number of school shootings in the United States, which far and away exceed any other nation's on earth.
“I am told that Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiOvernight Health Care: Biden unveils virus plan and urges patience | Fauci says it's 'liberating' working under Biden | House to move quickly on COVID-19 relief Overnight Defense: House approves waiver for Biden's Pentagon nominee | Biden to seek five-year extension of key arms control pact with Russia | Two more US service members killed by COVID-19 On The Money: Pelosi says House will move immediately on COVID-19 relief | Biden faces backlash over debt | 900,000 more Americans file for unemployment benefits MORE tells Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSamantha Power's Herculean task: Turning a screw with a rubber screwdriver Beau Biden Foundation to deny lobbyist donations, make major donors public Whoopi Goldberg wears 'my vice president' shirt day after inauguration MORE several times a month that ‘we need another school shooting’ in order to persuade the public to want strict gun control,” Greene said in another post back in 2018 also unearthed by Media Matters.
The Parkland school shooting set off new efforts to pass gun control measures after an expelled student killed 17 people. Students at the school were at the forefront of the effort.
Greene was just elected to Congress in November. She has won headlines for pushing the QAnon conspiracy theory and arguing against the use of facial coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Public health officials across the country have argued that masks are among the best ways to prevent the spread of the disease.
Greene was banned from Twitter for 12 hours for falsely claiming the Georgia Senate elections were rigged.
