‘Poisoning Young Minds’: Democratic Rep Wants To Ban Teens From Wearing MAGA Hats

Neetu Chandak on January 20, 2019

House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth called for banning teens from wearing Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats after a video circulated on social media of an encounter between some Kentucky high school boys and an American Indian after the March for Life rally Friday.

“I am calling for a total and complete shutdown of teenagers wearing MAGA hats until we can figure out what is going on,” Yarmuth posted on Twitter Sunday. “They seem to be poisoning young minds.”

Yarmuth, a Democrat Rep. from Kentucky, also blamed President Donald Trump for the allegedly negative behavior displayed in a separate tweet.

“The conduct we saw in this video is beyond appalling, but it didn’t happen in a vacuum,” another tweet by the chairman said. “This is a direct result of the racist hatred displayed daily by the President of the United States who, sadly, some mistake for a role model.”

Yarmuth’s proposal comes after a video of Covington Catholic High School boys were seen chanting as American Indian Nathan Phillips was banging a drum. The kids were seen wearing MAGA hats.

A person recording one of the videos said the boy face-to-face with Phillips appeared to be smiling while others allegedly mocked the American Indian prayer, CNN reported.

Phillips said he was trying to escape from the group.

“What the young man was doing was blocking my escape,” Phillips said, according to CNN. “I wanted to leave.”

Many condemned the behavior, but critics pointed out that the video was not given in the full context. A nearly two-hour YouTube video shows Phillips approaching the students.

Here is a video clearly showing that Nathan Phillips approached the students. On the basis of the evidence we now have, I believe that people who issued categorical and one-sided condemnations of the students should retract and apologize. pic.twitter.com/GxmXcMuQgC

— Matthew Schmitz (@matthewschmitz) January 20, 2019

The Diocese of Covington along with the high school issued an apology to Phillips Saturday.

“The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion,” the statement said.

Yarmuth did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The school could not be reached for comment.

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