Fact Check: Did Marjorie Taylor Greene Perpetuate Parkland Shooting Conspiracy Theory?

Freshman Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is one of former-President Donald Trump's most loyal allies and is known to support disproven claims like the 2020 election fraud theory.

The Claim

Last week, the left-wing watchdog website Media Matters for America found previously unreported interactions on Facebook from 2018 in which Greene agreed that the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was a "false flag" planned event.

A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on a second party.

Additionally, social media posts are calling her out, including one from Yashar Ali.

Shortly after the story broke, family members of victims, survivors of the shooting and other advocacy groups called for Greene's resignation.

A recent video from 2019 has resurfaced showing Green following Parkland survivor and gun control advocate David Hogg after he spoke with members of Congress and calling him a "coward" for not speaking to her. The video was posted by Lucy McBath, whose son was killed in the Parkland shooting.

The Facts

On February 14, 2018, a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. The shooting surpassed the Columbine (Colo.) High School massacre as the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. The incident sparked a national movement for gun control and inspired the student-led demonstration March For Our Lives.

After the shooting, Greene shared an article about the $8,700 retirement pension of Scot Peterson, the former resource officer at the school who failed to adequately intervene during the shooting.

In the comment section, someone wrote: "It's called a pay off to keep his mouth shut since it was a false flag planned shooting." Greene replied: "Exactly."

Another commenter wrote: "Kick back for going along with the evil plan. You know it's not for doing a good job." Greene replied: "My thoughts exactly!! Paid to do what he did and keep his mouth shut!"

While the original post remains on Greene's Facebook page, the two comments have been removed.

Later in 2018, Greene wrote a Facebook post claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted more school shootings in order to enact strict gun laws.

"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."

The post was recently deleted.

Media Matters also found that Greene endorsed conspiracy theories that 9/11 was an inside job and that the Sandy Hook (Conn.) Elementary School shooting was staged.

According to Media Matters, "she has pushed the QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories; falsely claimed that there's no evidence a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11; labeled the 2018 pipe bomb packages to members of Congress and others a hoax; accused the Obama administration of killing former Democratic staffer Seth Rich; and pushed anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic rhetoric, among other things."

In a different, since-deleted post in June 2018, Media Matters said that Greene posted a link to a piece from conspiracy theory website Gateway Pundit about Clinton's email server and wrote that "the people in power stop the truth and control and stall investigations, then provide cover for the real enemies of our nation. Why? Because they are ALL in it together, the swamp, is one gigantic cesspool of both Democrats and Republicans, and many in all of the intel agencies."

In the comments, someone replied that the Parkland shooting was actually "a deep state warning to the pocket puppets in the house and senate" and that "none of the school shootings were real or done by the ones who were supposedly arrested for them."

According to screenshots from Media Matters, Greene liked the comment and responded: "that is all true."

On January 19, 2020, Greene posted a statement on Twitter that criticized gun-free school zones, but she didn't address questions about whether she believed the shooting was a false flag conspiracy.

Days later, Green shared another tweet calling Media Matters fake news.

CNN's Kfile team conducted its own investigation into Greene's old Facebook posts and her past involvement in spreading conspiracy theories.

After reviewing "hundreds" of posts and comments from Greene's Facebook page, they said Tuesday that she repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democrats politicians in 2018 and 2019.

"In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said "a bullet to the head would be quicker" to remove Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the 'deep state' working against Trump."

Newsweek reached out to Greene for comment but did not receive a response.

The Ruling

True.

Greene expressed her agreement with comments claiming that Parkland and other school shootings were staged or deep state conspiracies.

She also is on record supporting other conspiracies.

Additionally, she has not denied any of the posts or the claims made by Media Matters of America or CNN, nor has she clarified how she feels about the shooting nearly three years later.

Correction, Jan. 28, 10:34 a.m. EST: A previous version of the story said Lucy McBath's son was killed at the Parkland shooting. He was killed in a gas station shooting in Florida.