NRA spokesperson accuses Parkland student activists of extortion for urging Publix not to donate to pro-NRA candidates

NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: “It’s extortion, let’s be real”

From the May 29 edition of NRATV’s Relentless:

Video file

DANA LOESCH (NRA NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON): So some Parkland students took to Publix this past weekend to do a die-in. It’s a protest where people lie on the floor and the protest leader shouts through a megaphone. Yeah. That’s one of the Parkland students David Hogg in front of Publix. So the crime that Publix committed is they donated money to campaigns that anti-gun advocates don’t like. I mean it’s a supermarket, they sell food. And Publix gave into their demands. We would call this extortion.

[...]

LOESCH: So people are mad because Publix gave money to a candidate that apparently supports the Second Amendment, and so they decided to lay down in the middle of Publix. And then also -- the student organizer also demanded that Publix give the March for Our Lives group the same amount of money, or double the amount of money, that they gave to this political -- that they donated to this political candidate. Again, anybody else would call that extortion. It’s extortion, let’s be real. I mean, we’re adults, and we need to use proper terminology. Now Publix said in a statement, “We regret that our contributions have led to a divide in our community.” OK no, Publix, your donations did not do that. Protesters who cannot abide differing opinions and cannot accept that debate is a natural part of compromise are the ones that led to this divide. Stop throwing up the white flag simply because there exist people on earth who cannot tolerate differing opinions. And that’s what this is. It’s intolerance of different opinions. It’s intolerance of how other people choose to live their lives and choose to believe in certain things.                   

Related:

The Washington Post: Publix halts donations to self-described ‘NRA sellout’ amid boycott, ‘die-in’ protests by David Hogg

Previously:

NRA President-elect Oliver North smears Parkland survivors as criminals

NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: NRA members are “victims of a different sort” of the Parkland school shooting

NRA national spokesperson Dana Loesch lied to Stoneman Douglas student Emma Gonzalez