- The mother of one of the teenagers filmed harassing a Native American man blamed the incident on “black Muslims” near the scene of the confrontation.
- A small group of black protesters had interacted with some of the students before Nathan Phillips, the Native American activist, intervened. They were with a group called Black Hebrew Israelites, which is unrelated to Islam.
- Video of the confrontation between the students and Phillips sparked widespread condemnation over the weekend.
The mother of one of the students accused of harassing a Native American man on Friday in Washington, DC, blamed “black Muslims” for the incident, according to a report on Sunday.
The woman wrote to Heavy.com to defend the actions of the students from Kentucky’s Covington Catholic High School, who were filmed on Friday surrounding and chanting at Native American activist Nathan Phillips as he beat a drum and sang the “American Indian Movement” song. One of the teenagers, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat can be seen in the video smiling and standing directly in front of Phillips throughout the incident.
The apparent attempt to intimidate Phillips prompted backlash across social media over the weekend, and the boys’ actions were condemned in a joint statement from the Catholic Diocese of Covington and officials from the high school.
However, the woman who wrote to Heavy.com argued that the boys were provoked by a group of men who had been protesting before the Native American group arrived.
“Did you hear the names of the people were calling these boys? It was shameful. Did you witness the black Muslims yelling profanities and video taping to get something to further your narrative of hatred??” the woman wrote, according to Heavy.
Separate video of the incident showed a small group of black protesters arguing with some of the crowd members before Phillips intervened. The protesters were identified as members of a group known as Black Hebrew Israelites, which is unrelated to Islam.
The students were apparently in Washington for the anti-abortion March for Life rally, which coincided with the Indigenous Peoples March.
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