Florida Shooting Survivor Says CNN Town Hall 'All Scripted,' Network Denies

On Wednesday night, CNN held a televised town hall where parents and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had their concerns addressed by state politicians and other authority figures. Much of the media attention in the aftermath of the town hall revolved around senator Marco Rubio, whose responses to questions about gun control were met with hostility from the crowd.

However, by the end of the night, another story emerged about someone who was not even at the town hall. Colton Haab, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, told WPLG-10 that he was invited to speak at the town hall, but ultimately refused, calling it an entirely scripted event.

Haab was credited with protecting dozens of his fellow students with kevlar sheets used by the school’s Junior ROTC program during the Valentine’s Day shooting. He reportedly wanted to ask about using military veterans as armed guards in schools to deter future mass shootings. He believed football coach Aaron Feis, who died protecting students from gunfire, could have stopped the shooting if he was armed.

Haab claimed CNN would not let him ask his question.

"It's not gonna ask the true questions that all the parents and teachers and students have,” Haab told WPLG-10.

CNN denied the allegation, claiming Haab’s father pulled the student out of the town hall.

The NRA Twitter account took Haab’s side Thursday, accusing CNN of scripting town hall events in the past. According to CNN’s transcript of the town hall, Haab’s topic was discussed, in relation to president Donald Trump’s suggestion that schools should arm faculty members to prevent shootings.

Marco Rubio, who was endorsed by the NRA in 2016 and has accepted money from the organization, said he did not think teachers should be armed. Other opponents of arming school faculty included fellow Parkland survivor Alfonso Calderon and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who both said it was not a teacher’s duty to wield weapons in schools.