An investigation found no evidence of the Covington Catholic High School students in last month's viral encounter with a Native American man on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial making "racist or offensive remarks."
Released to the pubic on Wednesday, the report put together by the Greater Cincinnati Investigation, Inc., adds credence to the Kentucky teenagers' account of the events that transpired that day, which initially stoked national outrage.
The controversy began with the spread of a short clip of the Jan. 22. incident showing a slew of teenagers, some of whom were wearing "Make America Great Again" hats and were chanting, surrounding a Native American man singing and beating on a drum. One of the boys, later identified as Covington junior Nick Sandmann, can be standing in front of the man, Nathan Phillips, with a smile on his face. In response to the widespread media coverage that ensued, lawmakers, Native American leaders, and the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School were quick to condemn Sandmann's behavior. The school announced it was investigating the situation and said Sandmann could be expelled.
However, longer video soon emerged, showing a nearby group of Black Hebrew Israelites yelling profanities at the students, prompting them to gather, and Phillips later walking directly into the throng, between the two groups.
Several conservative members of the media and others walked back their initial condemnation of the Covington Catholic High School students after the longer video emerged. Other critics remained steadfast in their condemnation, pointing out that some of the boys did a "tomahawk chop."
The "chop" is noted in the report, but the four licensed investigators who spent 240 hours to take statements from students and chaperones, interview third-party witnesses, and look through dozens of hours of video, found no evidence showing they said anything inappropriate to Philips or to the Black Hebrew Isrealites. The report found that the students felt "confused" by Phillips' approach, which echoes what Sandmann himself has said. The investigators for the report did not interview Sandmann or Phillips.
The report further noted there is no evidence that the students performed a "build the wall" chant, but some did ask their chaperons to do a school chant to "drown out" the Black Hebrew Israelites.
While some of the students, who were in D.C. for the anti-abortion March for Life event, did wear President Trump's "MAGA" hats, the report said in prior years students purchased "Hope" hats in support of former President Barack Obama.
The report also found that the individual who yelled "It's not rape if you enjoy it" was not a Covington student and that boys yelling at girls passing by in a separate video shared on social media were not from Covington either.
The Bishop of Covington Roger Foyes sent a note to the parents of the Covington students in reaction to the report.
"I am pleased to inform you that my hope and expectation expressed in my letter to you of 25 January that the results of our inquiry into the events of 18 January at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. would 'exonerate our students so that they can move forward with their lives' has been realized," he said. "Our inquiry, conducted by a third party firm that has no connection with Covington Catholic High School or the Diocese of Covington, has demonstrated that our students did not instigate the incident that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial."
The investigators from CGI, which was retained by Dressman, Benzinger, Lavelle on behalf of the Covington Diocese and Covington Catholic High School determined that statements from students and chaperons were "remarkably consistent" while statements made by Phillips in public interviews "contain some inconsistencies" and some of his assertions could not be verified "due to our inability to contact him."
Thanks for reading Investigation finds no 'racist or offensive remarks' by Covington students in viral incident - Washington Examiner. Please share...!
0 Comment for "Investigation finds no 'racist or offensive remarks' by Covington students in viral incident - Washington Examiner"