Politics

A Bunch Of Young Trump Supporters Crashed A Peaceful March And Taunted A Vietnam Vet

by Junkee  20 January 2019
A Trump-supporting protester intimidates a member of the Indigenous Peoples March

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A group of Trump-supporting teens, allegedly students from a Catholic high school in the United States, are under fire for crashing a peaceful march designed to honour the country’s Indigenous community.

The inaugural Indigenous Peoples March, held on January 18, was a Washington D.C. demonstration that included song, dance, traditional prayer, and speeches from leading members of the Indigenous community.

But as the event was wrapping up, a group of young men, allegedly students from the Covington Catholic High School, who, according to some sources, were in D.C. on an excursion to protest a pro-choice march, surrounded some of the delegates. That’s when they began to chant Trumpist slogans, including “build that wall”, a rallying cry for Trump since the very beginning of his campaign.

The teenagers began staring down Nathan Phillips, an Indigenous elder, Vietnam veteran, and storied figure in the Indigenous community, as he sang a traditional song of unity and beat a drum.

One teen, who stood imposingly close to Phillips while making unbroken eye contact and grinning, a MAGA hat on his head, has been singled out as being particularly disrespectful.

The teenagers circled the members of the peaceful Indigenous contingent, shouting and grinning. The behaviour has been described as “mob-like”.

In a video posted to Twitter, some of the teenagers can be seen laughing, dancing, and filming their own actions on mobile phones.

The event has already drawn condemnation from a number of leading U.S. senators, including Ruth Buffalo, a representative from North Dakota, who described the behaviour as “just a snapshot of what Indigenous people have faced and are continuing to face.”

Phillips was interviewed shortly after the harassment occurred, and, while wiping away tears, expressed his hope that the teenagers might utilise their energy in a more positive way in the future.

“I wish I could see the energy of … those young men, used to make this country really, really great,” he says in the video.

It is worth noting that the Indigenous Peoples March is not an outwardly anti-Trump event, nor has it been designed to highlight issues pertaining to immigration. This makes the disrespect of the teenagers — not to mention their “build a wall” chant — even more misguided and overly hostile.

For their part, the Catholic school that the teenagers allegedly attend has made an official response, extending their “deepest apologies” and making clear their intent to take “appropriate action” against the students, “up to and including expulsion.”