As the pitch for stricter gun control by students in the United States grows stronger – in the aftermath of the Florida school shooting incident – one person who has come into the limelight for his condemnable remarks on the issue is Dinesh D'Souza.
The Indian-American conservative, who describes himself as a writer, scholar, public intellectual, “renowned” filmmaker and speaker, posted some tweets on 20 February that mocked the survivors of the Florida school shooting.
D'Souza's tweets came after lawmakers in Florida reportedly struck down a bill to ban assault rifles.
His tweets were instantaneously met with irate reactions on social media, with people indicating that with his mockery of shooting survivors, he had stooped down to the lowest level possible.
However, D’Souza later seemed to apologise for his insensitive tweets, saying:
Seventeen teenagers and staff members were killed in the shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on 14 February. The gunman was identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who was a former student of the school and was expelled for disciplinary reasons.
So, Who is Dinesh D'Souza?
According to his website, 56-year-old D'Souza was born in Mumbai. He went to the US as an exchange student, before graduating from Dartmouth College in 1983.
Among the highlights of his career listed on the website are serving as a policy analyst in the Reagan White House, and then serving as the president of The King's College in New York between 2010 and 2012.
D'Souza also has several documentaries to his name, including, 2016: Obama’s America, America: Imagine the World Without Her, and Hillary’s America.
The conservative has also authored 20 books, with the latest one being 'The Big Lie: Exposing The Nazi Roots of the American Left'.
His pro-Trump and anti-Left leanings can be gleaned from the following description of his latest book on his website:
He (Dinesh D’Souza) expertly exonerates President Trump and his supporters, then uncovers the Democratic Left’s long, cosy relationship with Nazism.
Notably, D'Souza is also a felon. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to the violation of the campaign finance law, stating that he illegally reimbursed two "straw donors" in connection with the campaign of Republican Wendy Long for the US Senate in 2012, reported Reuters.
After his guilty plea, D'Souza was not sent to prison, but was accorded an eight-month sentence at a community confinement centre, along with a fine of $30,000.
(The Quint, in association with BitGiving, has launched a crowdfunding campaign for an 8-month-old who was raped in Delhi on 28 January 2018. The baby girl, who we will refer to as 'Chhutki', was allegedly raped by her 28-year-old cousin when her parents were away. She has been discharged from AIIMS hospital after undergoing three surgeries, but needs more medical treatment in order to heal completely. Her parents hail from a low-income group and have stopped going to work so that they can take care of the baby. You can help cover Chhutki's medical expenses and secure her future. Every little bit counts. Click here to donate.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)