White Students in MAGA Hats Taunt, Harass One of Vaugn's Elders and Vietnam Vet
The smirk on the face of this white kid with a red MAGA hat, as he taunts a Native American elder singing an intertribal song, is simply unbearable.
The as-of-yet unidentified teenager was part of a group of dozens of red-hat-wearing, pro-Trump students seen on several videos at the Indigenous Peoples March on Friday harassing Nathan Phillips. Phillips is a Native American elder, Vietnam veteran, and the host of a sacred pipe ceremony in Arlington, VA, according to Indian Country Today?s Vincent Schilling.
Activist Simar Ahluwalia, who uses his Twitter account to call out displays of Trump-inspired racism across the country, said the students are from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, KY. The school?s motto is: ?Educating Young Men Spiritually, Academically, Physically and Socially.?
I have emailed the school?s principal, Bob Rowe, for comment and will post any updates.
Ahluwalia said a woman at the march counted between 50 and 70 people in the pro-Trump group that confronted Phillips and other Native American demonstrators. Various people in the group appear to be wearing the school?s clothing.
?The group consisted of mostly white men who sought to intimidate, mock, and scare us with a mob mentality in order to silence a demonstration that was mostly concluded,? the woman wrote in one of the tweets. ?The group outnumbered us and enclosed our small group, chanting ?build the wall? and other trumpisms.?
The woman noted that Phillips ?did not break focus? during the ordeal.
After the videos went viral on social media sites, Covington Catholic High School set its Twitter account and website faculty page to private. Its Facebook page appeared to be offline.
However, as Cincinnati.com pointed out, the school promoted on its website a trip to participate in the March for Life, held the same day in Washington.
Rep. Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, called the incident ?heartbreaking.?
?This Veteran put his life on the line for our country. The students? display of blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance is a signal of how common decency has decayed under this administration,? she tweeted.
Schilling noted that in a previous interview with Indian Country Today, Phillips spoke of the difficulties he encountered when returning from the Vietnam War. ?People called me a baby killer and a hippie girl spit on me,? he said in the interview.
Earlier this week, President Trump joked on Twitter about Wounded Knee, one of the most infamous massacres of Native people in U.S. history.
White Students in MAGA Hats Taunt, Harass One of Vaugn's Elders and Vietnam Vet
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