David Keene, the president of the National Rifle Association (NRA) from 2011 to 2013 and current board member, was asked to give the graduation speech at James Madison Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Let me begin by telling you what an honor it is to be here to help celebrate your graduation,” he said to kick off his address in front of thousand of socially distanced chairs. There was no one in the chairs, however.
There’s also no James Madison Academy — Keene, as well as More Guns, Less Crime author John Lott, had been tricked into attending the phony graduation by Change the Ref. The gun safety organization was formed by Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son, Joaquin, was one of 17 people killed during the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. “Ironically, had the men conducted a proper background check on the school, they would have seen that the school is fake,” a spokesperson said.
“These two guys are part of the problem,” Manuel told BuzzFeed News. “We need to call them out, we need to show everyone. This is how they process the logic behind the gun industry. We need to show we’re brave and we’re not afraid of these guys. We’ve already felt the worst possible situation. There’s no threat that can make me feel different.” Change the Ref’s goal is to “give the young generation of survivors and victims a disrupting voice to help lead the way to change – a more peaceful future.”
After filming, Keene and Lott were told the graduation was canceled and were not informed before the videos were released on Wednesday that the events were fake… Both Keene and Lott traveled to Vegas and were excited to speak, said Oliver, who did not meet either of them to make sure the stunt did not get disrupted by anyone recognizing him.
Keene spoke to 3,044 empty chairs — the same number of students who should have graduated this year but were instead killed by a gun.
You can watch the powerful videos below.
(Via BuzzFeed News)