The father of a on-air reporter who killed during a live TV report in 2015 has announced he plans to run for Congress.
Andy Parker said he will run as a Democrat in Virginia's 5th District against Republican freshman Congressman Bob Good, who he called the 'Marjorie Taylor Greene of Virginia' and says its rhetoric is harmful. The gun control advocate is also calling for social media reform.
'This district is not being represented the way it should be,' Parker told CBS News before he launched his campaign.
'Since Alison was killed, I've always tried to honor her life through action. Given the atmosphere we face right now, this is the time to jump in and make a difference.'
In 2015, Parker's 24-year-old daughter Alison Parker and her cameraman colleague Adam Ward, 27, were filming a live segment for local Virginia station WDBJ-TV when they were shot dead by former co-worker Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, who then went on the run before committing suicide.
In addition to the footage that was broadcast live through Ward's own camera, Flanagan also filmed his attack using a GoPro and uploaded it that day on social media.
Andy Parker has since become a huge advocate for gun control and has rallied to reform Section 230, a law that protects social media companies from lawsuits over content on their platforms.
Last year, he filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to hold Facebook, now called Meta, accountable for still allowing the graphic video of his daughter's murder to circulate on its platforms six years later.
Andy Parker (pictured) announced he is planning on running for Congress as a Democrat in Virginia's 5th District against Republican freshman Congressman Bob Good
Following his daughter Alison's shooting death, Parker has since become a huge advocate for gun control and has rallied to reform Section 230 (pictured with Alison)
Good (pictured) has voted against the electoral certification on January 6 and bipartisan infrastructure bill, and has spread misinformation about masks and vaccines, Parker said
'Since Alison was killed, I've always tried to honor her life through action,' Andy Parker said of his daughter, pictured
He accused the company of profiting from the footage of his daughter's murder.
'Posting content, violent content and murder on social media is not free speech, it's savagery,' he said in October 2021.
'And as you all know, Alison's murder shared on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube is just one of the egregious practices that are undermining the fabric of our society.'
Andy Parker said he wanted to take his fight for social media reform to Congress after exhausting his options as a private citizen.
'It's tough for anybody, for one out of four hundred plus members to do anything. But I think I've got a better chance at pushing that issue,' he said.
Andy Parker says he is running against Good because he has supported the spread of misinformation online.
The Republican, elected in 2020, voted against the electoral certification of President Joe Biden on January 6 and later, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and has spread misinformation about masks and vaccines, Parker told CBS.
In a statement, Good said he's done 'what I said I would do when first
