N. Ky. Congressman Defends Cov Cath Students

Congressman Thomas Massie said “It is my honor to represent them.”

An encounter between Covington Catholic High School students and a Native American protestor in Washington, D.C. is bringing a firestorm of controversy around the students and the school. Photo via Autumn Rain/Instagram.

(Covington, Ky.) - Northern Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie is defending Covington Catholic High School students involved in a confrontation with a Native American protestor.

The students were in Washington, D.C. on Friday for the March for Life. They were near a memorial awaiting a bus to pick them up.

A nearly four-minute long viral video of the incident has led to a social media uproar against the students and the school. It shows a Cov Cath student smiling and standing while Native American protestor Nathan Phillips loudly beats a drum in his face.

Congressman Massie, a Republican, said he was uncomfortable when he first saw the video and description that went viral. However, after watching other, longer videos of the incident, Massie is defending the Cov Cath students.

“What they got was a brutal lesson in the unjust court of public opinion and social media mobs,” tweeted Massie.

In one alternative angle, African-American protestors can be heard calling the students racial and homophobic slurs before Phillips approached the students, some of them wearing “Make America Great Again” hats.

“In the face of racist and homosexual slurs, the young boys refused to reciprocate or disrespect anyone,” Massie wrote. “Even when taunted by homophobic bigots, which was obviously bewildering to them, they insulted no one… In the context of everything that was going on (which the media hasn’t shown) the parents and mentors of these boys should be proud, not ashamed, of their kids’ behavior.”

Massie urges people to watch varying videos of the incident before passing judgment.

Phillips, a longtime Native American activist and Vietnam veteran, told the Detriot Free Press he was scared as the Cov Cath students surrounded him and chanted “Build the wall.”

“There was that moment when I realized I've put myself between beast and prey,’’ Phillips told the newspaper. “These young men were beastly and these old black individuals was their prey, and I stood in between them and so they needed their pounds of flesh and they were looking at me for that.’’

The smirking student at the center of the confrontation with Phillips is junior Nick Sandmann. He and his family issued a statement Sunday calling media portrayal of what happened “outright lies”.

“I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation,’’ Sandmann said. “I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict.’’

A number of threats have reportedly been made toward Covington Catholic High School. Kenton County Prosecutor Rob Sanders said “Threatening acts of violence against educational institutions in Kentucky is a felony and we don’t take it lightly no matter the circumstances.”

The Diocese of Covington issued a statement Saturday apologizing to Phillips.

“This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person. The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion. We know this incident also has tainted the entire witness of the March for Life and express our most sincere apologies to all those who attended the March and all those who support the pro-life movement,” the diocese statement read.

In light of the new videos showing the incident in further context, the diocese has not walked back its statement.