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Person

David Hogg

Nationality:

American
Born:

2000
Affiliated Organization(s):

Leaders We Deserve

March for Our Lives

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David Hogg is a political activist and survivor of the 2018 Parkland High School mass shooting. Hogg has founded political advocacy group Leaders We Deserve PAC and is a co-founder of gun control advocacy campaign March for Our Lives. He briefly served as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2025 but was removed on the grounds that the DNC had not followed proper procedures for its internal elections amid a dispute over Hogg’s opposition to senior Democratic leadership. 1 2 3 4

Early Life

David Hogg is originally from Los Angeles but moved to Parkland, Florida where he attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Hogg’s father, Kevin Hogg, is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. 1 5

On February 14, 2018, when David Hogg was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a 19-year-old killed 17 students and injuring 18 others before being arrested. Hogg’s sister, Lauren Hogg, was also a student and survived the shooting. 1

Early Activism

On February 15, 2018, following the Parkland shooting, David Hogg appeared on CNN where he called on lawmakers to implement stricter gun control measures to prevent mass shootings, stating “We’re children. You guys are the adults.” 6 In a CBS interview, Hogg called for politicians to, “[a]ctually keep your promises. Don’t just make false promises just so you can get re-elected,” while advocating for mental health care reform and universal background checks for firearm purchases. 7 On February 20 that year, Hogg and several Marjory Stoneman Douglas students traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby the U.S. Congress in support of gun control. 8 6 On February 21, Hogg and his sister appeared on the TV show “Dr. Phil” to discuss the shooting. 9

In response, Hogg was the subject of far-right conspiracy theorists who claimed that he was a crisis actor hired to increase gun control sentiment following real or fake mass shootings. Donald Trump, Jr., the political-activist son of President Donald Trump, retweeted articles from the Gateway Pundit making conspiratorial claims, and an aide to then-Florida state Rep. Shawn Harrison (R-Tampa) was fired for publicly making these claims. 1 10 5

On March 9, 2018, partially in response to Hogg’s activism, Florida passed an Extreme Risk Protection Order law (also known as Red Flag law) that prohibited individuals from purchasing firearms if they were deemed dangerous to themselves or others. 11

In a March 2018 interview with Time, Hogg referred to then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) as “the devil” and referred to the struggle for gun control as “kids versus evil.” 12

On March 24, 2018, Hogg began co-leading Washington, D.C-based, and later national, demonstrations advocating for control measures. These protests formalized into the protest movement March for Our Lives. Hogg is listed as one of the 28 co-founders of the movement (along with his sister Lauren), all of whom are survivors of the Parkland mass shooting incident. 13

In April 2018, Hogg urged then-U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) to propose a federal bill requiring universal background checks for all gun purchases. 14

In the summer of 2018, Hogg went on a nationwide tour to promote gun control. In June, Hogg was the victim of a Swatting event, a form of criminal action wherein a caller makes a false 9-1-1 call to attempt to have the target’s home swarmed by armed police. 15 11

In October 2018, Hogg spoke at an event with Boston Public Library president David Leonard on gun control. Hogg advocated the adoption of federal “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” and claimed that “racial inequality and media bias play a role in determining which shootings get covered [by the media] and which don’t.” 11

College Activism

In April 2018, David Hogg announced that he was taking a gap year between graduating from high school and starting college to volunteer in get-out-the-vote efforts during the 2018 elections. 3 Hogg worked on the election campaign of U.S Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL). 16

The following year, 2019, Hogg began attending Harvard University where he continued to engage in anti-gun activism. 12

In May 2023, Hogg graduated from Harvard along with fellow Parkland shooting survivor Jaclyn Corin. 17

Leaders We Deserve

In August 2023, David Hogg announced that he was forming Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee and Super PAC dedicated to supporting the campaigns of young Democratic candidates running for office. The group was co-founded by Kevin Lata, the campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL). 16

DNC Vice Chair

In December 2024, David Hogg announced that he was running for vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Hogg received endorsements from Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). In February 2025, Hogg won the fourth of five vice chair positions. 2

In April 2025, Hogg announced that his Leaders We Deserve PAC planned to spend $20 million to support primary challenges to “ineffective” Democratic incumbents. It was later reported that other DNC members objected to Hogg supporting campaigns against incumbent Democrats. 18 19

In May 2025, the DNC Credentials Committee declared that the elections of Hogg and fellow vice chair Malcolm Kenyatta were invalid because their elections violated the DNC’s gender diversity requirement bylines. 20 The DNC then voted to uphold the Credentials Committee’s decision, thereby nullifying the elections of Hogg and Kenyatta. Though he was eligible to run again for the seat, Hogg declined. 21

References

  1. Andone, Dakin. “Student journalist interviewed classmates as shooter walked Parkland school halls.” CNN. February 18, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/17/us/david-hogg-profile-florida-shooting/index.html.
  2. Quarshie, Mabinty. “David Hogg wins election as vice chair of DNC.” Washington Examiner. February 1, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/3307825/david-hogg-wins-election-vice-chair-dnc/
  3. Griggs, Brandon. “David Hogg will take a gap year before college to work on the midterm elections.” CNN. April 9, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/09/us/david-hogg-parkland-year-off-trnd/index.html?sr=twCNN040918david-hogg-parkland-year-off-trnd0129PMStory.
  4. Williams, Austin. “David Hogg Faces Possible Ouster from DNC after Re-Election Vote.” LiveNowFox, June 11, 2025. https://www.livenowfox.com/news/dnc-david-hogg-revote-2025.
  5. Garcia, Arturo. “Far Right Blogs, Conspiracy Theorists Attack Parkland Mass Shooting Survivor.” Snopes. February 20, 2018. Updated February 21, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/02/20/right-wing-media-david-hogg/
  6. “Florida Shooting Survivor Calls For Action: ‘We’re Children. You Guys Are The Adults’ | TIME.” YouTube. February 15, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxBdvzUDw-Y.
  7. Song, Jean. “Florida school shooting survivor to lawmakers: “Make some compromises”.” CBS News. February 16, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-shooting-florida-survivor-david-hogg-teacher-ashley-kurth/.
  8. [1] Garcia, Arturo. “Far Right Blogs, Conspiracy Theorists Attack Parkland Mass Shooting Survivor.” Snopes. February 20, 2018. Updated February 21, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/02/20/right-wing-media-david-hogg/.
  9. Boedeker, Hal. “Florida school shooting: ‘Dr. Phil’ offers two shows.” Orlando Sentinel. February 20, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20180222165026/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/tv-guy/os-et-florida-school-shooting-dr-phil-offers-two-shows-20180220-story.html.
  10. “Florida shooting: Student David Hogg denies ‘actor’ claim.” BBC. February 21, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43140105.
  11. McGovern, Aidan. “David Hogg talks social activism, gun control at Boston Public Library.” The Huntington News. October 17, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://huntnewsnu.com/55376/city/david-hogg-talks-social-activism-gun-control-at-boston-public-library/.
  12. Alter, Charloette. “The Education of David Hogg.” Time. June 13, 2022. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://time.com/6186538/david-hogg-guns-march-for-our-lives/.
  13. “Who We Are.” March for Our Lives. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://marchforourlives.org/who-we-are/.
  14. Karlis, Nicole. “Shooting survivor David Hogg: Paul Ryan, make background checks your legacy.” Salon. April 11, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.salon.com/2018/04/11/shooting-survivor-david-hogg-starts-pro-background-check-campaign-targeted-at-paul-ryan/
  15. “Parkland teenager David Hogg ‘swatted’ in prank call.” BBC. June 5, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44373028.
  16. Killion, Nikole. “Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg launches organization to guide a “new generation” into politics.” CBS News. August 9, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/parkland-survivor-david-hogg-leaders-we-deserve-political-organization-launch/.
  17. “MSD survivors Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg graduate from Harvard.” 7 News Miami. May 26, 2023. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/msd-survivors-jaclyn-corin-david-hogg-graduate-from-harvard/.
  18. Korecki, Natasha. “DNC chair rebukes David Hogg for pushing primaries against Democratic incumbents.” NBC News. April 23, 2025. Updated April 24, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/david-hogg-disrupts-democratic-party-rcna202202.
  19. Schneider, Elena. “DNC gives David Hogg an ultimatum.” Politico. April 23, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/23/dnc-gives-david-hogg-an-ultimatum-00307113.
  20.  Wells, Dylan; Svitek, Patrick. “DNC panel finds Hogg and another official weren’t properly elected to leadership.” Washington Post. May 12, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/12/hogg-dnc-leadership-election-vote/.
  21. Goldmacher, Shane. “David Hogg to Exit D.N.C. After Backlash to His Primary Plan.” New York Times. June 11, 2025. Accessed June 19, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/us/politics/david-hogg-dnc-democrats.html.
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