14-year-old Parkland survivor calls out Melania Trump for sitting by as Donald Trump Jr. cyberbullied her

(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

published 23 February 2018

Fourteen-year-old Lauren Hogg, who survived the Parkland, Florida, school shooting last week but lost four of her friends, rebuked first lady Melania Trump on Friday after Donald Trump Jr. "liked" tweets pushing conspiracy theories about the students.

Hogg's older brother, 17-year-old David Hogg, was the target of such tweets liked by Donald Trump Jr. earlier this week. The conspiracy theories allege Hogg, who has made powerful statements calling for bipartisan action on gun violence, is "running cover for his dad," who is a former FBI agent.

"Hey @FLOTUS, you say that your mission as first lady is to stop cyber bullying," Lauren Hogg tweeted, "well then, don't you think it would have been smart to have a convo with your stepson, @DonaldJTrumpJr, before he liked a post about a false conspiracy theory, which in turn put a target on my back and created a safe space for people all over the world to call me and my family horrific things that constantly re-victimizes us and our community?"

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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