John Lott, a pro-Second Amendment activist, lashed out after being duped into speaking at a fake high school graduation in a ploy by a little-known gun control group.
On Wednesday, Change the Ref, an organization aiming to raise awareness about mass shootings, released a video titled "The Lost Class," which showed Lott speaking to a chorus of empty chairs on June 4, an event he thought was a rehearsal for a prominent institution's graduation commencement. The footage featured clips of Lott talking about gun background checks as the group panned over the empty chairs and insisted thousands of high school students die from firearm violence annually, a number Change the Ref says would be improved by more laws regulating gun sales.
The Change the Ref ploy also included a speech from former National Rifle Association President David Keene, who now serves as the editor-at-large for the Washington Times. Keene may have been subject to the same misinformation from the organization.
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"If they feel that they have a strong argument, why is it necessary to take video and take things so completely out of context?" Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, told the Washington Examiner in a phone interview on Wednesday. "I mean, why is it necessary to do that?"
"If they had confidence in their claims, they wouldn't have to do stuff like this, they wouldn't have to lie, [and] they wouldn't have to go and take things out of context," he added. "I'm disappointed and upset."
He also blasted the footage for being "very selectively edited" and "out of context." As a result, he said, it missed his main arguments that background checks are subject to large numbers of "false positives" and have adverse effects on minority males.
On May 14, Lott said he was contacted by a man claiming to be Jordan Simon, the board chairman of a fictional school called the James Madison Academy, to be its keynote speaker. At the time, the unidentified person who worked for Change the Ref, crafted a fake website for the institution, JamesMadisonAcademy.net, which no longer displays on a web browser.
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The man claiming to be Simon told Lott he would receive the "Keeper of the Constitution Award" for showing "exceptional dedication to preserving the 2nd Amendment," according to emails provided to the Washington Examiner.
"It was a pleasure speaking to you on the phone earlier. As I mentioned, I am the Board Chairman with James Madison Academy, a private, online high school in Las Vegas," the May 14 email read in part.
It continued: "On Saturday, June 5th, we will be holding a special in-person graduation ceremony in Las Vegas. We'd be thrilled to have you accept the award at the ceremony and give a 5-10 minute speech addressing the graduating class, focusing on the importance of the individual liberties given to us in our 'Bill of Rights' especially the 2nd Amendment."
At first, Lott, who said it was "a bit of an honor to go and give a talk to such a large group of high school students," was reluctant to bring politics into a high school commencement. He voiced these concerns to the fake school, though they insisted he talked about background checks. He eventually agreed.
"I said, 'Look, you know, it seems inappropriate to me to give a political discussion at a high school commencement,'" Lott said in his interview. "I wanted to go and give them basically the talk that I give my kids, and that is, 'If you're going to work hard, work hard in the beginning of your life. You try to pick a job that's not a job because if it's something you really enjoy, you'll be a lot more successful.'"
The Second Amendment activist said he was promised $1,000, which he received in cash, and $496 for travel, though he has yet to recoup that portion of the pay. On June 3, Lott began the 1,000-mile trek from his home state of Montana to Las Vegas by car after he was instructed to arrive one day early for a "practice" session in front of empty chairs.
Lott, who gave a talk somewhere else on June 3, was inconvenienced by the news and offered to give the "practice" session by phone, though the man claiming to be Simon insisted he arrive as soon as possible, according to text messages obtained by the Washington Examiner.
"If I can give the practice talk on the phone, it would really make my life a lot easier," Lott told the unnamed man. "I have given lots of talks to large audiences. I guess that it would really make life much easier."
To which "Simon" responded, "Unfortunately, my hands are tied. Everyone participating will have to be there on Friday for rehearsal."
Lott then rushed through the night to Vegas and was subsequently stopped and ticketed by a police officer at around 1 a.m., texts between the pair showed.
"I drove until 1 AM last night," Lott wrote. "Was doing better on time until the police pulled me over."
The man claiming to be Simons responded, "Oh no! Did you get a ticket?"
"Yes," Lott answered.
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When June 5 arrived, Lott was told the "live-version" of the commencement was canceled due to "threats of violence," and organizers claimed the police were generating leads on the supposed perpetrators. He was sent on his way without performing the "actual" ceremony.
When he tried to contact the man posing as Simons to follow up on what he thought was a disturbing development, the phone number was disconnected.
Neither Keene nor Change the Ref immediately responded to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
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Tags: News, Second Amendment, Gun Control, Las Vegas, Schools, Firearms, Background Checks, National Rifle Association
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Second Amendment activist 'disappointed and upset' after gun control group dupes him into speaking at fake graduation
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Second Amendment activist 'disappointed and upset' after gun control group dupes him into speaking at fake graduation - Yahoo News