Florida lawmaker aide fired amidst Parkland shooting “crisis actor” claims

ByCraig Haley

Benjamin Kelly, an aide to Florida state representative Shawn Harrison, has been fired after he claimed to a journalist that some of the students from Stoneman Douglas High School were actually “actors” that “travel to various crisis when they happen“[sic].

The claims come amidst the predictable flurry of conspiracy theories that inevitably surface online in the aftermath of mass shootings. The fundamental narrative of such conspiracy theories is that most, if not all, mass shootings are staged events (“false flag events”) to demonstrate the dangers of guns, in a bid to increase gun control laws, with the long-term goal of disarming the American people.

These conspiracy theories persist despite the fact that after several high profile mass shootings, including the deadliest mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, the US government has enacting no significant regulation on gun control.


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Those who engage in such theories often make bizarre claims that victims and survivors are really “crisis actors”, i.e. professionally trained actors who play the part of survivors. The same claims have surfaced regarding several students at Stoneman Douglas High School who have appeared in a number of media appearances advocating stricter gun control regulation.

Responding to journalist Alex Leary from the Tampa Bay Times, Benjamin Kelly, an aide to state representative Shawn Harrison, parroted this conspiracy theory by claiming that “both students” were actually actors, not students, that travel to incidents like mass shootings to advocate stricter gun control.

Kelly was referring to the students David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez, who have been particularly vocal in the media surrounding gun control, and have been the focal point for many online conspiracy theories painting them as crisis actors.


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In particular, such theorists have been pointing to a media interview with David Hogg in 2017 in California, claiming Hogg was “then a California student but now a Florida student?” (While the video interview is real, it was about a viral video taken by Hogg regarding a confrontation with a beach lifeguard – at no point did Hogg claim he was a current student in California. He tweeted about the interview in 2017 claiming he had been there only a week.)

(We debunk more David Hogg related conspiracy theories here.)

Reporter Alex Leary soon retweeted (above) the response, and soon after state representative Shawn Harrison announced that Kelly had been fired from his position.

While it certainly won’t put an end to the matter for crazed conspiracy theorists, Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times that they have indeed verified that both Hogg and Gonzalez are genuine students from Stoneman Douglas school.

These are absolutely students at Stoneman Douglas. They’ve been there. I can verify that.

Sadly, this type of behavior in the wake of such tragic events has become par for the course, as the bizarre conspiracy theories have become just as inevitable as the tragic shootings themselves. While the running themes of “false flags” and “crisis actors” don’t change, our response to them can. Don’t pay them any attention. They’re not worth your time.