Catholic school in Kentucky closed Tuesday after backlash from viral video

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky is closed today over security concerns after students were thrown into the national spotlight over the weekend at a March for Life rally.

Video of a student wearing a Make America Great Again cap facing off with Native American activist Nathan Phillips went viral, causing a backlash. Many thought the students were mocking the Native American veteran who was chanting and beating a drum. Other video released later shows a group called the Black Hebrew Israelites yelling insults at the students before Philips walked toward the group of boys. In the video, members of the Black Hebrew Israelites can be heard calling the students “racists,” “white crackers” and “incest kids.”

A student identified as Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic High School stood his ground, staring and sometimes smiling as Philips continued to beat the drum in front of him. Sandmann says he’s been called names and his family has received death threats since video of Friday’s confrontation surfaced.

(Here’s the video posted on Facebook by WKRG).

One of the chaperones told “Fox and Friends” on Fox News that the students were “targeted for what they stood for, which is Christianity, the right for life.”

Jill Hamlin says the boys asked if they could do a school cheer to drown out the other groups and she said it was okay.

“We wanted to drown out the hate, the hatred message that was being thrown at our children,” Hamlin said on “Fox and Friends.”

(YouTube video of group called Black Hebrew Israelites, Warning: Offensive language). 

Phillips is now offering to travel to Kentucky to meet with students and talk about race relations and cultural appropriation. Phillips says the Indigenous Peoples March was coming to a close with a prayer ceremony Friday when the Black Hebrew Israelites and the students started arguing. Phillips says he stepped between the two groups to calm things down.