Students attending an all-male Catholic high school in Kentucky participated in the annual March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18, 2019. During their brief time in Washington the students came upon a group of Native American elders near the Lincoln Memorial who were participating in a second event, the Indigenous Peoples March. A confrontation between these high school students, some wearing MAGA attire, and the Native Americans was captured in a photograph and disseminated worldwide. The photo ignited a notable controversy and focused attention on the students’ apparent hostile actions. A short video of the events was also posted on social media. Some new reports interpreted the students’ actions as aggressive and racist.

The news reports of the incident and the reactions of social media followers exploded on the Internet. A doctor in New Jersey, Sunjana Chandrasekhar, reacted to the incident by posting a picture that included the numbered headshots of 45 of the Covington students and a caption that read:

“These are scary faces, indeed. #CovingtonShame 1. Stop tax breaks for ‘religious’ establishments. 2. Massive re-education is needed, for these children, their families, and their communities. 3. I hope they don’t get to use their #whiteprivilege … like #Kavanaugh did.”