Capital Gazette and Charleston Church Shooting Survivors Respond to Violent, Shocking Video Shown at Trump Resort

NEW YORK — Gun violence survivors from the mass shootings at the Capital Gazette building in Annapolis, Maryland, and the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, released the following statements today after reports that a video depicting President Trump committing violence, including shooting people, was recently shown at a sanctioned political event to supporters of the President at Trump National Doral Miami. 

“My husband was targeted as a journalist and killed doing what he loved — reporting the news and keeping his community informed. Videos like the one shown at a political event for President Trump are not only offensive, but dangerous to the safety of my husband’s fellow news media colleagues,” said Andrea Chamblee, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action whose husband was shot and killed in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting. “This kind of dangerous rhetoric can lead to real consequences and it’s disgusting that this kind of video would be used for political gain. Our leaders need to take this urgent crisis seriously and act, not to make light of gun violence in America.” 

“This video depicting the President of the United States harming innocent people makes me sick to my stomach and promotes violence. No one should experience the pain of having a family member taken by gun violence,” said Reverend Sharon Risher, a member of the Everytown Survivor Network whose mother and two cousins were shot and killed in the 2015 Emanuel AME shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. “Showing this video at a sanctioned political event wasn’t just inappropriate — it was hurtful. Lawmakers should condemn this video immediately and disavow the supporters who created it.”

Every day in the U.S. on average, 100 Americans are killed with guns, and hundreds more are shot and wounded. Over the weekend, reports of gun violence included deadly shootings in Brooklyn, New York; Pelham New Hampshire; and Chicago, Illinois.