Parent of Parkland shooting victim removed from State of the Union after shouting

Fred Guttenberg, an anti-gun violence activist and Long Island native whose daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting, was escorted from the State of the Union address Tuesday night, according to multiple reports.

Guttenberg shouted a protest after President Donald Trump’s comments about the Second Amendment.

“Just as we believe in the First Amendment, we also believe in another Constitutional right that is under siege all across our country,” Trump said. “So long as I am president I will always protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.”

Guttenberg shouted “victims of gun violence like my daughter,” according to a Huffington Post reporter, who said cheers by Republicans in the audience mostly drowned out his words. He was removed from the House of Representatives chamber by the Capitol police near the end of the president’s speech.

Guttenberg became an activist after his daughter Jaime was killed along with 16 others in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

He’s focused his efforts on combating gun violence, and supported a range of political candidates who have promised to take actions to reduce gun deaths.

Guttenberg was a guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Trump kept speaking during the disruption. Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, seated behind the president, both looked toward the disturbance, and Pelosi appeared to make a calming hand gesture.

Before the speech, Guttenberg tweeted a thank you to Pelosi.

“Thank you @SpeakerPelosi for inviting me to be your guest tonight at the State Of The Union. I cannot thank you enough for your commitment to issues important to Americans and to the issue most important to me on dealing with gun violence,” the tweet said.

He also tweeted a picture of himself with Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla.

Guttenberg did not respond to a voicemail left late Tuesday.