The Washington Post is reporting that an investigation into the incident between Nathan Phillips, a native elder and professional activist who initially claimed to be a Vietnam War veteran (this turned out to be a lie) and some boys from Covington Catholic High School has cleared the boys, who had just attended the March for Life:
An investigation released Wednesday into an encounter between Covington Catholic High School students and Native American activists at the Lincoln Memorial last month largely supports the students’ accounts of the incident, which prompted immediate and widespread condemnation of the boys after a video of the encounter went viral.
A short video clip showed Nathan Phillips, playing a traditional drum, in an apparent standoff with student Nick Sandmann, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. The Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School, which arranged the trip, were among those who initially condemned the boys’ actions in the video.
The report, prepared by Greater Cincinnati Investigation, Inc. and dated Feb. 11, employed four licensed investigators for approximately 240 hours to take statements from students and chaperones, as well as to interview third-party witnesses and review about 50 hours of video. Investigators were not able to interview either Phillips or Sandmann in person and instead reviewed the student’s written account.
The investigators said they found no evidence that the students responded in an offensive manner to the black Hebrew Israelites or that they chanted “build the wall.” After asking chaperones, they performed a school cheer, according to the report, to drown out the black Hebrew Israelites.
Other key findings include testimony that the students felt “confused” when Phillips approached them. Investigators said they found no evidence of “racist or offensive statements by students to Mr. Phillips,” though some performed a “tomahawk chop.”
According to the report, one of the chaperones told students that if “they engaged in a verbal exchange with the Black Hebrew Israelites, they would receive detention when returning to school.”
According to the report, most boys bought the red hats bearing President Trump’s MAGA slogan in Washington on the day of the March for Life, an annual antiabortion rally that they attended. In previous years, some students bought “Hope” hats in support of President Obama, the report says.
Now let’s see if mea culpas will be forthcoming from the media vultures who gleefully attempted to destroy the lives of a few teenage boys in order to score a few cheap political points. The boys deserve loud and sincere apologies from those who piled on, especially the celebrities who advocating doxing them (such as the repulsive Kathy Griffin.) I doubt it, but hopefully the more clearheaded members of the media should realize that it is this sort of thing that crushes whatever remains of their credibility and transfers that credibility to Donald Trump and everyone else highlighting the fact that their coverage not infrequently turns out to be Fake News.
And if they can’t learn this very obvious lesson, perhaps they should learn how to code.
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