By Penny Hoffmann
The image of Covington students and the school has been tarnished by the mainstream media. The Covington Catholic Diocese stands against the destruction of their reputation from the fake news reporting of the incident.
Covington students have received death threats and bomb threats against the school.
In a video of the interaction between black Hebrew Israelites and Covington students, Covington students were called “dirty ass crackers”, “child molester faggots”, “evil white racists” and “future school shooters”.
The media is and has been investigating and trying to expose the school. Media organisations, as well as famous celebrities and others, are desperately searching for any material that paints a negative image of the Covington boys.
Some media organisations have taken down their misleading articles about the situation, whilst others have not.
There is also an absence of an LGBT+ reaction regarding the black Hebrew Israelite who said homosexuals should not have rights.
Many prominent figures have been involved in a large Twitter brawl over the situation.
Some have even deleted their tweets and apologized for being misleading and inappropriate towards the students and school.
Here are some examples of the Twitter brawl:
Bishop Talbert Swan, a pastor, prelate, author, talk show host, and chaplain, says that being insulted by the Hebrew Israelites does not provide justification for the Covington students “harrassing the Native American”:
National Rifle Association member, conservative writer and editor for TFP Carmine Sabia called out Allison Stiles for “going into hiding” when she “got called out” for “talking smack on the #CovingtonBoys”:
Trump supporter and political activist Cassandra Fairbanks stated that a protest was scheduled at Covington High School, and that it was not clear if classes would be cancelled. Fairbanks also called out Donald Trump for tweeting about baseball whilst “ignoring #CovingtonCatholic”:
Former U.S army whistleblower, transgender activist and 2018 Senate candidate Chelsea Manning tweeted about the situation:
U.S freelance journalist, political activist and commentator CJ Pearson shared a Change.Org petition in support of the Covington boys:
Pearson also stated that “we are getting new submissions every 30 seconds. Every member of the media who defamed, slandered, and doxxed the #CovingtonBoys on Twitter will be served. Each and every tweet will be archived and turned over to the students’ legal counsel”.
Daniel P. Horan, author, Franciscan Friar of Holy Name Province in New York, columnist, and assistant professor at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, tweeted in support of Nathan Phillips:
Dean Cain, an American actor, television host and producer, criticized the media who misrepresented the details of the protest:
Debra Messing, an American actress, retweeted a video of the Covington boys and called them “assholes”:
She also called Nick Sandmann, the Covington boy who is known for his smirk whilst in the face of an approaching African American protester hitting a drum near his face, a “mocking, condescending, disrespecting, asshole”.
The Covington Diocese and Covington Catholic High School released a statement condemning behavior, extending “deepest apologies to Mr. Philips” and promising to take “appropriate action, up to and including expulsion”.
The Sandmann family released a statement:
National Review, “leading conservative magazine and website”, posted this article which was later taken down:
Roman Catholic Priest, CNN religion commentator, author, playwright and chaplain Father Edward Beck does not condone the behavior of the Covington boys:
American Roman Catholic priest and national director of Priests for Life Friar Frank Pavone advised praise and respect for the boys for protesting abortion, while offering some criticism of his side:
Jacob Wohl, former columnist of The Gateway Pundit, conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter, advised the public to not believe the mainstream media on the case:
Writer for The Resurgent, small business owner and author Ed Willing retweeted British chef and television presenter James Martin’s tweet. Willing did not claim to take sides for or against anyone:
James Hanson, president of Security Studies Group and former member of the U.S Army Special Forces and author, states that CNN has “no credibility on the truth” and shames those who smeared the Covington boys:
Khaled Beudoun, leading scholar on islamophobia, national security, anti terrorism law and civil liberties states that whites, because of their skin colour, are presumed to be innocent:
Mark Dice, American Youtuber, conspiracy theorist and author, says the “black supremacists got a free pass from the whole mess”:
British political journalist, broadcaster and author Mehdi Hasan retweeted a a post that claims to have evidence that “strengthens African-American protester Mr. Nathan Philips’ account of what happened toward the conclusion” of the march:
Oliver Willis, an author, writer at Shareblue Media, called the Covington boys racist:
Louisiana lawyer Sonia Gupta discussed Nick’s smirk:
Nick Sandmann issued a statement regarding the incident:
American author, journalist and cartoonist Jake Tapper says the media “got this one completely wrong”:
Spandan Chakrabarti, editor-in-chief of the political blog The Peoples View, says “the media will stop at nothing to protect white male privilege”:
U.S president Donald Trump says the “Covington Catholic students were treated unfairly”:
Jack Morrissey, a film producer who has helped create Beauty and the Beast and movies from Twilight, tweeted an image of MAGA kids being pushed into a woodchipper:
Morrissey then issued an apology for the image:
Kathy Griffin, an American comedian and actress who is known for her severed Trump head photo, accused Covington basketball players of doing a nazi salute. She later deleted the tweet:
Griffin also called for the Covington kids to be named and shamed: