Radical left-wing comedian Kathy Griffin urged her followers to publicly shame a group of young, conservative students Sunday after they were accused of harassing a Native American man.
New videos of the incident appear to debunk the initial claims of racism and harassment, but Griffin has not backed down on her targeting of the Kentucky students.
“Name these kids,” Griffin wrote on Twitter, the Inquisitr reports. “I want NAMES. Shame them. If you think these f—– wouldn’t dox you in a heartbeat, think again.”
The students and their families have received death threats and other harassment as a result of the claims, according to the Washington Examiner.
On Saturday, a heavily edited video of the students went viral, appearing to show them taunt a Native American man Friday after the March for Life in Washington, D.C. One of the students, who was wearing a Make America Great Again hat, was accused of racism for standing face to face with the Native American man and smiling at him.
However, a new, longer video shows that there was much more to the story. It prompted many to backtrack their initial condemnation of the students. The video indicates that both the students and Native Americans were harassed by a radical religious group called the Black Hebrew Israelites. The longer footage also shows that it was the Native American man who approached the students, not vice versa, as was initially claimed.
Despite the new evidence, Griffin and other left-wing activists have been adamant in their criticism of the teens and the teens only. There has been little condemnation of the adults who shouted profanities or racial slurs at the teens or Native Americas, or of the Native American who claimed the students got in his face when video evidence indicates that he approached them, according to Reason.
Many are calling on Twitter to take down the messages that incite shaming and violence against the teens:
Kathy Griffin is attempting to dox MINORS. This is a violation of Twitter Terms of Service. Her actions could be putting these kids in real danger. Will @Jack do anything about it? I sent this directly to his staff. If a Republican did this they’d be banned in a heartbeat. https://t.co/gJC5pd5gZ6
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 21, 2019
Conservatives have been banned from @Twitter for much less! Attempting to dox minors is surely a violation of twitter policy? @jack? https://t.co/o50GrnOQiX
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 21, 2019
Hey @TwitterSupport, could you pls clarify if ginning up your 300,000 followers to go after a teenager violates any of your company policies? Thx! https://t.co/tlQBJw4uKr pic.twitter.com/qZCmYmDysy
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) January 21, 2019
Several prominent individuals did take back their initial condemnation of the students, including Princeton University Professor Robert P. George and Andy Lassner, executive producer of “The Ellen Show,” according to the report.
New York Times columnist David Brooks did as well, writing: “Yesterday I had one impression of the maga kids from Kentucky. Now after seeing more videos I have a different more complicated impression. Makes all the hot takes seem silly.”
Two Kentucky lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, also defended the students after seeing longer videos that showed the whole incident.
In a statement, one of the accused students said he was confused by the whole incident and he smiled only to let the other protesters know that he would not be intimidated.
“I was not intentionally making faces at the protestor,” he said. “I did smile at one point because I wanted him to know that I was not going to become angry, intimidated or be provoked into a larger confrontation. I am a faithful Christian and practicing Catholic, and I always try to live up to the ideals my faith teaches me – to remain respectful of others, and to take no action that would lead to conflict or violence.”
