Global Information2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation information
 A still from a viral video of Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann and Native American Nathan Phillips | |
| Date | January 18, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Location | Lincoln Memorial stairs |
| Coordinates | 38°53′21.4″N 77°3′0.5″W / 38.889278°N 77.050139°W |
| Participants |
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On January 18, 2019, a confrontation between groups of political demonstrators took place near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The interaction between Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann and Native American Nathan Phillips[1] was captured in photos and videos widely disseminated by major media outlets. Videos released days later showed that initial media reports had omitted key details of the incident.[2][3][4] Reports of the incident triggered outrage in the United States, including calls to dox the students,[5] after stories falsely reported the Catholic students acted as the aggressors.[6] The students received death threats and Covington Catholic High School temporarily closed due to fears for its students' safety.[7]
The short videos of the encounter that were uploaded to social media platforms received millions of views[8] and were widely shared. At first, the anger focused on the students and the school, which, along with some of the students, received threats of violence.[9] As more videos were released, diverging views about what had happened polarized Americans. The incident was described by The New York Times as an "explosive convergence of race, religion and ideological beliefs"[10] and a Vox editorial called it the "nation's biggest story".[2]
In February 2019, the Covington Diocese released an investigation report of a private detective agency hired by the diocese and the high school, stating that the report exonerated the students.[11][12][13] The American news media has been criticized for covering the incident without fully investigating what occurred and fueling controversy and outrage. Covington students have filed a number of multi-million dollar defamation lawsuits against news agencies. Nicholas Sandmann, the Covington student featured in most media coverage of the incident, settled lawsuits with CNN, The Washington Post, and NBCUniversal.[14][15][16] He later lost his suits against The New York Times, CBS, ABC, Rolling Stone, and Gannett.[17]
- ^ Goodman, Alana (January 23, 2019). "Native American activist Nathan Phillips has violent criminal record and escaped from jail as teenager". Washington Examiner. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ a b Beauchamp, Zach (January 23, 2019). "The real politics behind the Covington Catholic controversy, explained". Vox. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
The Covington Catholic fight is American politics in microcosm.... Why is the Covington Catholic controversy still the nation's biggest story? It started simply enough. A short viral video shot on Friday shows a group of white teens, some wearing "Make America Great Again" hats, a slogan popularized by Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign. standing near a smaller group of Native Americans including an elder from the Omaha tribe named Nathan Phillips. It's been four days since the initial incident, which had nothing like the policy significance of the still-ongoing shutdown fight. Still, it's the most divisive and talked-about issue in American public life right now. Why? The answer is that the Covington videos are kind of Rorschach test, showing each side seeing what it wants to in a way that's more revealing about their own worldviews than the actual incident.
- ^ Grinberg, Emanuella (January 23, 2019). "A new video shows a different side of the encounter between a Native American elder and teens in MAGA hats". CNN. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
Kaya Taitano, who shot the viral video, said the teens were chanting "Build the wall" and "Trump 2020." CNN.
- ^ Robins-Early, Nick (January 22, 2019). "House Intelligence Committee Looking Into Tweet About Viral MAGA Hat Teen Video". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
The House Intelligence Committee has asked Twitter to provide more information about a viral video of jeering high school students in Make America Great Again hats surrounding a Native American man, a committee aide told HuffPost. The Twitter account @2020fight on Friday posted the minute-long video of Covington Catholic High School students and Omaha tribe elder Nathan Phillips, and was viewed over 2.5 million times in the days since.
- ^ McCarthy, Tyler (January 21, 2019). "Kathy Griffin calls for doxing student's identities after viral video at Native American march: 'Shame them'". Fox News. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ Sanchez, Rey (February 13, 2019). "Report finds no evidence of 'offensive or racist statements' by Kentucky students". CNN. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ Dias, Elizabeth (January 22, 2019). "After Viral Video, Families of Covington Are Swiftly Circling to Protect Their Boys". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WaPo_20190119was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
NYT_20190123was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mervosh, Sarah; Rueb, Emily S. (January 20, 2019). "Fuller Picture Emerges of Viral Video Between Native American Man and Catholic Students". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:5was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:6was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ CNN settles lawsuit with Nick Sandmann stemming from viral video controversy CNN, January 7, 2020
- ^ "Nick Sandmann settles $250M lawsuit with the Washington Post". www.msn.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ Bentley, Quinlan (December 17, 2021). "Covington Catholic graduate Nicholas Sandmann reaches settlement in lawsuit against NBC". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ "Former Covington Catholic Student Nick Sandmann Loses Defamation Lawsuits Against CBS, ABC, NYT, and Others". July 27, 2022.