Education

Thomas Massie Stands With MAGA Hat Kids 

REUTERS/Mike Segar

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Neetu Arnold Contributor
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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie came out in support of the Covington Catholic High School boys in a series of tweets Sunday after the students were intensely ridiculed and doxxed over a now-questionable video of an encounter with an American Indian.

The initial video showed the students wearing Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats and chanting as American Indian Nathan Phillips banged a drum after the March for Life rally Friday. The New York Times, CNN, NBC News and other media outlets framed the incident as the boys mocking Phillips. (RELATED: The Real Story Behind The Catholic School Boys And Their Dust Up With A Native American Veteran)

Massie said he understood the initial reactions over the video, but wanted to wait for all the evidence before making comment, he said in one tweet Sunday. After watching “an hour of other videos from 4 different cameras” he asked others to gain full context of the video before passing judgment on the situation.

“In the face of racist and homosexual slurs, the young boys refused to reciprocate or disrespect anyone,” Massie tweeted.

Massie added that the boys’ parents should be proud of the way their kids responded. He also provided a statement from Nick Sandmann, the student who was face-to-face with Phillips.

Sandmann said in his statement that African-American protesters called the students “white crackers,” “bigots” and a homophobic slur. He also clarified he was not trying to instigate Phillips, who approached the group of students.

Massie’s tweet came on the same day House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth called on banning teens from wearing MAGA hats as they were “poisoning young minds.” Yarmuth, a Democratic representative from Kentucky, later said it was an “obvious joke” after getting criticized on Twitter.

The Catholic school issued an apology to Phillips Saturday, prior to the full video being circulated Sunday.

The initial video resulted in some, including Kathy Griffin, calling for personal information on the boys to be leaked. Some of these doxxing efforts misidentified the students.

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