MSNBC host Katy Tur said Wednesday that Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R.) was "refusing to speak" with students crowded outside his office calling for gun control, before reporting minutes later that Scott's absence was due to his attending a Parkland shooting victim's funeral.
In the aftermath of last week's high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, students at the school and around Florida traveled to Tallahassee for a rally to call for action on gun reforms. MSNBC filmed a large group of students outside Scott's office, chanting "Shame on you" and holding file boxes saying #HearTheBills and #Enough.
Tur reported a "blonde woman wearing glasses" had told the students Scott was "too busy to meet with them today."
"They flooded the governor's office, and the governor is refusing to speak with these students," Tur said. "These are students from across Florida. They're students from Parkland ... The survivors. It sounds like they're not being heard."
The woman with glasses Tur referred to, who had a "Guns Off Campus" sticker, then asked the students what they'd tell Scott if he was there. Tur apologized to viewers and said it appeared the woman was part of the student group, not a member of Scott's office.
Tur repeated some of the students' suggestions for Scott, such as "do your job" and "make a difference."
"They're asking the governor to do something about rifles, to do something about assault weapons, to stop looking into immigration so much, and to focus on what is the issue that they're there to talk about: weapons. Their lives," Tur said.
Six minutes later, Tur said Scott's office had called MSNBC to tell them he would be meeting with small groups of Parkland students for 20 minutes each at 5 p.m.
"Right now, he is not in the office. He is at the funeral, I believe, for a student," Tur said. "That's why he cannot meet with those kids right now. Obviously, they're not happy about it. Those kids are still inside that office. They want to be heard. We'll see if they wait there until 5:00 today."
Fellow host Ali Velshi repeated Tur's initial characterization of Scott at the same time she talked about it with a tweet that was retweeted more than 4,300 times as of this report's publication.
BREAKING: students are in the waiting area of FL Gov. Rick Scott’s office - after being told he’s too busy to meet with them - chanting "shame on you!"
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) February 21, 2018
When someone responded to his tweet that Scott was at a funeral for shooting victim Chris Hixon, Velshi wrote that's what Scott had told NBC. That tweet got 18 retweets as of this tweet's publication.
I just left the funeral for Chris Hixon about an hour ago ...the Governor was in Hollywood Florida at the service. Not sure why they think he’s in his office. I believe he has another funeral here this afternoon,
— Andrew Morris (@amorris575) February 21, 2018
Yes this is what he told NBC. He’s on his way back and will be meeting with them when he returns
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) February 21, 2018
BREAKING: FL Gov Rick Scott says he WILL meet with students at 5p today
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) February 21, 2018