FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A gun control advocate whose daughter was killed in the Parkland massacre says Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ignored him and wouldn't shake hands Tuesday during a break in a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.
A video of the hearing appears to show Kavanaugh turn and walk away as Guttenberg tries to speak to him.
"Just walked up to Judge Kavanaugh as morning session ended," Guttenberg wrote on Twitter. "Put out my hand to introduce myself as Jaime Guttenberg's dad. He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away. I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence."
Guttenberg's 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was one of the 17 people killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Raj Shah, deputy press secretary for the White House, wrote on Twitter that Kavanaugh was unable to shake hands because security intervened.
"As Judge Kavanaugh left for his lunch break, an unidentified individual approached him," Shah wrote. "Before the Judge was able to shake his hand, security had intervened."
But Guttenberg told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that account is not accurate.
"He turned away and moved quickly when I was said who I was," Guttenberg said. "Then security came by."
Guttenberg said he was attending the hearing at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The moment quickly went viral on social media.
Democrats seized on the image of Guttenberg's outstretched hand apparently being ignored by the judge.
"I'm not sure how to define judicial temperament, but if Judge Kavanaugh reacted that way AFTER being told who Fred was, it's clear he doesn't have it," U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., wrote on Twitter. Deutch's district includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, died in the Parkland shooting, defended the judge on Twitter, writing: "Judge Kavanaugh is a decent man and should be confirmed. Stop weaponizing Parkland to advance a dangerous political agenda!"
