RESTON, VA: On Tuesday, Media Research Center Founder and President Brent Bozell and 34 conservative leaders issued a joint statement to the news media calling on them to apologize to the students from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky for their vicious media coverage against the students following their attendance at the 2019 March for Life.

Below is the statement in full:

Over the past week, the liberal media and leftist activists viciously attacked Covington Catholic High School, falsely labeling the group of teenagers racists and bigots based on a deceptively edited viral video. The liberal media's promotion of this false narrative incited death threats to these kids and their families. If not for the leftist media’s contempt for pro-lifers and President Trump, this “story” would have never reached the magnitude that it did.

We now know the kids of Covington Catholic were the real victims of the altercation in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Despite the truth, despite an apology from the Bishop, despite some apologies from some journalists, despite media retractions, despite the deletion of tweets, some leftists in the press and other liberal elites are still perpetuating the lies about the innocent Covington kids. This is bigotry and its own brand of hatred. It is an ongoing display of anti-Trump, anti-life, anti-Catholic, and anti-Christian bias. These are blatant bullying tactics designed to make conservatives and people of faith think twice before standing up for their beliefs or even having the audacity to wear a “MAGA” hat in public, let alone smile while doing it.

We denounce any media outlet that continues to so dishonestly attack the Covington Catholic kids and we call on them to apologize for the bullying behavior that continues to result in threats of violence against the kids, their school and their community

L. Brent Bozell

Founder and President

Media Research Center

Saul Anuzis

President

60 Plus Association

Kenneth Blackwell

Morton Blackwell

Chairman

The Weyrich Lunch

Bethany and Ryan Bomberger

Founders

The Radiance Foundation

Floyd Brown

Publisher

Western Journal

Susan Carleson

Chairman and CEO

American Civil Rights Union

Monica Cole

Director

OneMillionMoms.com

Ed Corrigan

Executive Director

Conservative Partnership Institute

William Donohue

President

Catholic League

Elaine Donnely

President

Center for Military Readiness

Becky Norton Dunlop

Virginia

Tricia Erickson

President

Angel Pictures & Publicity, Inc.

Erick Erickson

Editor

The Resurgent

Steven Ertelt

Editor

LifeNews.com

Mark Fitzgibbons

President of Corporate Affairs

American Target Advertising

Lady Brigitte Gabriel

Founder & Chairman

ACT for America

Rebecca Hagelin

Secretary, Council for National Policy

Michael Hichborn

President of the Lepanto Institute

George Landrith

President

Frontiers of Freedom

Joe Langfeld

Executive Director

Human Life Alliance

James Martin

Founder/Chairman

60 Plus Association

Bob McEwen

Former Member

U.S. House of Representatives

James Miller

Budget Director for President Ronald Reagan, 1985-1988

Gene Mills

President

Louisiana Family Forum

Cleta Mitchell

Janet Morano

Priests for Life

C. Preston Noell

President

Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

Frank Pavone

George Rasley

Managing Editor

ConservativeHQ.com

Patrick Reilly

President

The Cardinal Newman Society

Terry Schilling

Executive Director

American Principles Project

Jon Schweppe

Director of Government Affairs

American Principles Project

Richard Viguerie

LTC. Allen West, U.S. Army, Ret.

Member, 112th U.S. Congress

Senior Fellow, Media Research Center

Tim Wildmon

President

American Family Association