Covington Catholic High School to reopen Wednesday with police detail
UPDATE: Covington Catholic High School announced it will reopen Wednesday.
The school said Tuesday that over the last four days, the administration has been meeting with local and state law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security regarding the incident in Washington, D.C. involving some of its students.
The school said students are asked to report to school by 8 a.m. Police will be outside and inside the school throughout the whole day, including after school and during evening activities.
The normal drop-off procedures will be in place but the Gardens of Park Hill parking lot is off-limits. Students must park on school grounds, and the number of entrances and exits to the school will be limited.
Students and faculty will meet throughout the school day to discuss the incident in D.C.
The principal says that if parents are not comfortable with sending their child to school, they understand.
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PARK HILLS, Ky. (WKRC) - Safety concerns lead to the closure of Covington Catholic High School for Tuesday as a protest was planned for the high school and a vigil was set for the Diocesan Curia. A statement from the school said there had been threats of violence.
Groups did protest in front of the school Tuesday. The Indian Movement chapter of Indiana and Kentucky was represented as were the students.
One person held a sign that read, "We can all do better". Several called for change and an understanding of different cultures.
Some students at the school became the center of controversy at the March for Life rally in Washington, D.C.
An incident caught on video quickly made the rounds on social media but most only saw a small part of the it initially. The clip appeared to show students mock a Native American elder taking part of an Indigenous People's event.
A new statement from the school reads,
On Monday afternoon the Covington Police alerted us that they had intelligence concerning a planned protest, Jan. 22, at Covington Catholic High School and a vigil at the Diocesan Curia. Due to threats of violence and the possibility of large crowds the Diocese was advised to close Covington Catholic High School, the Diocesan Curia and neighboring Covington Latin School. We thank law enforcement officers for their protection and will reopen when they say it is safe to do so.
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. 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.
We pray that we may come to the truth and that this unfortunate situation may be resolved peacefully and amicably and ask others to join us in this prayer.
We will have no further statements until the investigation is complete.
Also on Tuesday, President Trump tweeted in support of the school and Nick Sandmann, the student at the center of the video wearing a Trump campaign Make America Great Again hat.
Notre Dame Academy is CovCath's sister school and is located not far from their campus. NDA's principal sent a letter to parents of students at the school which reads, in part:
We are deeply saddened by the events involving Covington Catholic High School students this weekend and the impact this has had on their school community and all of us connected to them through family, friendship and our school relationship.
We have received numerous messages from around the country, including those directly connected to our school and those with no connection whatsoever, weighing in on the events that occurred.
Regardless of those many diverse and often conflicting opinions being sent to us, we remain committed to the principle of human dignity for all and pray that all parties will work to find understanding and realize that all of the animosity is only harmful.
