Trevor Noah Celebrates ‘First Amendment’ Rights in Covington Controversy

Trevor Noah waded into the Covington controversy last night, criticizing the media for its vilification of the MAGA-hat wearing Catholic schoolboys who were pictured apparently engaged in an aggressive standoff with a Native American man in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after a march.

More videos later emerged complicating the story, showing that the encounter had been preceded by a radical group, the Hebrew Israelites, shouting slurs at the students for some time before Nathan Phillips—a Native American activist involved in a third demonstration—moved to come between the groups.

Noah criticized the media for not conducting rudimentary research on the story, which would have revealed that, prior to Phillips entering the fray, the boys were being harassed and abused by the protesters.

In video freely available online, the Hebrew Israelites hurl a sustained volley of racist abuse at the boys, describing them as “dusty-ass crackers” and “future school shooters.”

Noah said: “If I was the news, surely you guys could have just searched on social media before reporting this story. Just a simple search. You would have seen it all. You would have seen this crazy fringe group, the Black Israelites or whatever, shouting these things at the kids, you see the kids responding with the chants.”

Noah says, “It’s a weird story, because I feel like depending on who is holding the camera, their story made them look like the victims.”

Noah also mocked the schoolboys claims to have been afraid, however, saying the were clearly having a ‘good time’ adding, “I have never taken my shirt off when I was afraid.”

He said, “Everyone played the victim card a little too hard.”

Noah concluded: “If anything, I know its a crazy statement to make, but I feel like that’s what the National Mall is supposed to be about. People go there and protest, say whatever you want to say and then you go home. I think that was great display of all First Amendment rights, no Second Amendment. It was a good time.”

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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