The Catholic high school near the Kentucky-Ohio border that is at the center of a viral controversy was closed on Tuesday due to security concerns.
The closure comes days after video captured an encounter Friday between Covington Catholic High School and a Native American elder on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial.
In a letter sent to parents, teachers, and staff, Covington Catholic High School principal Robert Rowe said school would be canceled Tuesday “in order to ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff.”
“All activities on campus will be canceled for the entire day and evening,” he said. “Students, parents, faculty and staff are not to be on campus for any reason. Please continue to keep the Covington Catholic Community in your prayers.”
On Saturday, photos and videos surfaced of the Covington students, in Washington, D.C., for the March for Life rally, encircling Native American elder Nathan Phillips, who was chanting and beating a drum.
Initial reports portrayed the encounter as being one where the students were being disrespectful of Phillips, but further details, including longer video, emerged that showed there was more to the story and that Phillips was actually the one who walked into the crowd and said in interviews that he was trying to diffuse a tense situation between the students and another nearby group that was shouting obscenities.
Covington Catholic High School, which like other schools across the nation, was closed on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, may not reopen right away.
The school released a statement Tuesday saying an investigation is underway after threats were made against the school and its students.
“Concerning the incident in Washington, D.C., between Covington Catholic students, Elder Nathan Phillips and Black Hebrew Israelites the independent, third-party investigation is planned to begin this week,” the school said in a statement, according to FOX19 in nearby Cincinnati. “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 statement also said the school would reopen “when law enforcement says it is safe to do so.”
Covington Catholic High School is located in Park Hills, Ky. — a southern suburb of Cincinnati just across the Ohio River.
A demonstration by the the American Indian Movement Chapters of Indiana and Kentucky was planned for the outside school on Tuesday. However, it was moved a couple miles east to the headquarters of the Diocese of Covington, according to NBC News.
About 30 people showed up to that demonstration, according to local media.
Signs at the protest read: “God doesn’t teach hate why do you.” “Racism is a learned behavior,” and “They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds,” according to the Courier Journal.
