President Donald Trump has invited to the White House the Covington Catholic High School students who became the most hated people in the nation this weekend, while their school has been forced to close as threats keep pouring in.
Students from Covington, who became viral super-villains when a clip of them appearing to surround and mock a Native American elder was widely shared, will meet with Trump "as early as tomorrow," Fox News host Laura Ingraham initially reported on Tuesday – only to qualify the statement a few hours later with a note that any such meeting would take place "after shutdown." White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the invitation had been issued.
Meanwhile, students and parents at Covington were warned just hours before the start of classes on Tuesday to stay off campus for the day. The last-minute missive followed a letter to parents informing them that "the incident that took place at the March for Life in Washington, DC" was being investigated by an independent third party and advising them to contact the authorities in case of any threats.
The threats haven't stopped coming, even after the real story has come out. Nick Sandmann, "star" of the video, and several of his peers and their parents have been doxxed, and many of those who initially called for the kids' heads on a plate have been working overtime to dig up other incidents that might justify their hate.
Trial lawyer Robert Barnes has volunteered his services to parents looking to sue the New York Times and other outlets that fanned the flames of hatred, telling PJ Media that "anyone who doesn't correct and retract" the fake stories could expect to hear from him. Sandmann and his family hired RunSwitch PR – ironically run by a CNN employee – to offer "professional counsel" and release their own version of the weekend's events – sparking another round of attacks.
Trump himself did not comment on the controversy until the clamor from his base became too much to ignore.
Also on rt.com Missing in action: Supporters blast Trump for silence on Covington Catholic kidsIf Trump doesn't end up inviting the kids to the White House, others have rolled out the red carpet – including Dominik Tarczynski, a member of the Polish Parliament.
The made-for-outrage-Twitter narrative -- privileged white kids surround and taunt a Marine Vietnam vet and tribal elder – quickly unraveled once internet sleuths turned up the complete video of the confrontation, which showed Native American activist Nathan Phillips deliberately walking into the middle of the crowd of Covington students, who were waiting for a bus to transport them home after the anti-abortion March for Life on Friday. The kids, already shaken after a group of Black Israelites began pelting them with racist and homophobic taunts, didn't know what to make of the old man with the drum, and smiled – some would say "smirked" – while trying to play along.
The revelation prompted some soul-searching among the Resistance's ranks after the initial violent reaction –"head-first into the woodchipper" – dissipated. But not everyone was willing to abandon their initial hostility – after all, they were guilty – of being white, and smirking.
At least one journalist – Erik Abriss of Vulture – was fired after tweeting that he "just want[s] these people to die. Simple as that. Every single one of them. And their parents."
Tons of tweets ended up getting deleted, and the Washington Post surreptitiously edited their own story to describe Phillips as a "Vietnam era" vet when it turned out he never actually fought there. One of the Covington boys' grandfathers, an actual Vietnam vet, slammed Phillips for misrepresenting his identity for fundraising purposes.
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