A Kentucky high school student accusing of mocking a Native American protester in a viral video spoke out for the first time Sunday night and claimed the video does not show what really happened during the encounter … Nick Sandmann, a junior at Covington Catholic High School, said he was “mortified” to find that so many people believe he and his classmate were taunting African-Americans and Native American protesters with racist chants during an encounter between protest groups on Saturday. “I did not do that, do not have hateful feelings in my heart and did not witness any of my classmates doing that,” Sandmann said.
The students initially were accused of mocking a Native American participant in the Indigenous Peoples March, which coincided with the March for Life. A snippet of video from the apparent confrontation quickly gained traction on social media, with many condemning the students — some of whom were wearing “Make America Great Again” apparel — and other critics calling for the students to be identified and harassed.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and the high school issued a joint statement apologizing to the activist, identified Saturday as Nathan Phillips. However, the emergence of longer video that appears to show some students being harassed prompted some conservatives to take back their earlier criticisms of the students.