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Thomas Massie Stands With MAGA Hat Kids 

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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie came out in support of the Covington Catholic High School boys in a series of tweets Sunday after the students were intensely ridiculed and doxxed over a now-questionable video of an encounter with an American Indian.

The initial video showed the students wearing Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats and chanting as American Indian Nathan Phillips banged a drum after the March for Life rally Friday. The New York Times, CNN, NBC News and other media outlets framed the incident as the boys mocking Phillips.

(1/5) I was uncomfortable when I saw the video & description that first went viral, so I understand the initial reactions to the CovCath video. I chose to wait for more facts before responding because the narrative did not match what I know to be the character of these students.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 20, 2019

(2/5) The honorable and tolerant students of Covington Catholic School came to DC to advocate for the unborn and to learn about our nation’s Capitol. What they got was a brutal lesson in the unjust court of public opinion and social media mobs.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 20, 2019

(3/5) I’ve now watched over an hour of other videos from 4 different cameras of the incident in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I urge everyone to watch the other videos before passing judgement. Would you have remained that composed at that age under those circumstances?

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 20, 2019

(4/5) In the face of racist and homosexual slurs, the young boys refused to reciprocate or disrespect anyone. Even when taunted by homophobic bigots, which was obviously bewildering to them, they insulted no one.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 20, 2019

Nick’s public statement. pic.twitter.com/kOQiUfbry7

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 21, 2019

Massie said he understood the initial reactions over the video, but wanted to wait for all the evidence before making comment, he said in one tweet Sunday. After watching “an hour of other videos from 4 different cameras” he asked others to gain full context of the video before passing judgment on the situation.

“In the face of racist and homosexual slurs, the young boys refused to reciprocate or disrespect anyone,” Massie tweeted.

Massie added that the boys’ parents should be proud of the way their kids responded. He also provided a statement from Nick Sandmann, the student who was face-to-face with Phillips.

Sandmann said in his statement that African-American protesters called the students “white crackers,” “bigots” and a homophobic slur. He also clarified he was not trying to instigate Phillips, who approached the group of students.

Massie’s tweet came on the same day House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth called on banning teens from wearing MAGA hats as they were “poisoning young minds.” Yarmuth, a Democratic representative from Kentucky, later said it was an “obvious joke” after getting criticized on Twitter.

The Catholic school issued an apology to Phillips Saturday, prior to the full video being circulated Sunday.

The initial video resulted in some, including Kathy Griffin, calling for personal information on the boys to be leaked. Some of these doxxing efforts misidentified the students.

1) Yesterday was supposed to be a day of celebration for my middle brother Alex, who got married last night. Instead my family had to deal with the fallout of my youngest brother #MichaelHodge being falsely accused for standing & smiling in front of an indigenous man with a drum

— Andrew Hodge (@PikePlaceTechie) January 20, 2019

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