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‘Today Show’ To Air Interview With Covington Catholic Student At Center Of Viral Video

Posted at 2:15 PM, Jan 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-22 15:47:08-05

(NBC News) – “The Today Show” will air an interview with the Covington Catholic student at the center of a viral video in Washington D.C.

Savannah Guthrie announced that she will interview Nicholas Sandmann, the student videoed in a standoff with Native American protestor Nathan Phillips.

The controversy over conflicting narratives divided an already polarized nation. The first video showed Sandmann, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and appearing to smirk while Phillips played a traditional chant on a drum.

A longer video shows a group identified as the ‘Black Hebrew Israelites” hurling insults at both the Native Americans and the Covington Catholic Students.

And slowly more videos began to appear on social media with celebrities and politicians, including President Donald Trump, weighing in.

“Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be,” Trump tweeted Tuesday.

Sandmann released a statement saying he was never in a confrontation with Phillips and that the video was being misinterpreted.

“I never interacted with this protestor. I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me. We had already been yelled at by another group of protestors, and when the second group approached I was worried that a situation was getting out of control where adults were attempting to provoke teenagers,” read a statement from the student.

Covington Catholic released a statement Wednesday. It reads, “Concerning the incident in Washington D.C., between Covington Catholic students, Elder Nathan Phillips and Bleck Hebrew Israelites: The independent, third-party investigation is planned to begin this week. This is a very serious matter that has already permanently altered the lives of many people. It is important for us to gather the facts that will allow us to determine what corrective actions, if any, are appropriate.”

The school is closed due to security threats.

The interview will air Wednesday morning on “Today.”