Members of a Boy Scout troop based in Alabama bullied a Georgia Boy Scout who is the son of Ethiopian immigrants, throwing rocks and calling him the 'N-word' during a week-long camping trip at Camp Woodruff in north Georgia, according to Scout parents.

Troop 10 from Johns Creek, Ga., was camping next to Troop 76 from Vestavia Hills earlier this month when the incident happened, said Leanne Potts, whose son is in Troop 10 with the 14-year-old who was bullied. She said Troop 76 moved from its camping spot by the next day.

"It upsets me that this is that boy's summer camp memory," said Potts, of Alpharetta, Ga.

"The members of Troop 76 had thrown rocks," Potts said.

AL.com met in person with the teen who was bullied in Alpharetta this week, and spoke to his mother. They asked not to be named, but the mother confirmed that rocks were thrown and her son was called a racial epithet.

Some Scouts - not the ones from Alabama - were wearing "Make America Great Again" caps at the camp, she said. President Donald Trump campaigned on that slogan and often used harsh rhetoric against immigrants.

Dr. Rob Spiegel, a Birmingham physician who is the scoutmaster for Troop 76, affiliated with Liberty Crossings United Methodist Church, said the mid-June incident at Camp Woodruff is being overblown.

"Things happen at camp," Spiegel said. "There's a lot of misinformation."

He denied that members of Troop 76 threw rocks at a black Boy Scout from Troop 10.

"The rocks are not accurate," Spiegel said.

Spiegel said he spoke to the Boy Scout who was allegedly bullied. "I talked to that child," he said.

Asked if Scouts from Troop 76 had used the 'N-word," Spiegel declined to confirm or deny that allegation.

"We have African-American kids in our own group," Spiegel said. "I don't think it's a story. I've seen a lot worse things happen at camp."

The Rev. Wade Griffith, senior pastor of Liberty Crossings United Methodist Church, which sponsors Troop 76, addressed the incident in an email to church members.

"What happened was very regrettable and is absolutely inconsistent with the values and high ideals of scouting and, more importantly, the United Methodist Church," he wrote. "I am thankful that the Troop leadership acted decisively to evaluate the situation and to punish those responsible. We are a church that is dedicated to loving God and loving ALL people. As such, we strive to be a safe place for any person to come and seek God through worship, study, and service. Going forward, we will continue to work to ensure that those values are reflected in every aspect of our church's ministry."

Scout leaders for Troop 10 did not respond to requests for comment.

An administrator at Camp Woodruff said he did not know the details of what happened. "We definitely knew there was an incident," said Matt Rendahl, director of camping for Camp Woodruff.

Rendahl said the issue was handled by scoutmasters for the units and that the camp did not send anyone home, although Troop 76 may have sent one of its scouts home on its own.

"We did have some bullying issues," Rendahl said. "We certainly have policies and procedures to combat bullying to try and reduce things like that from happening. We as adults need to help build them into good citizens."

Racial name-calling should not be tolerated, he said.

"We shouldn't have that in camp, or anywhere," Rendahl said.

Potts said she thinks Trump has fostered an atmosphere of intolerance that contributed to the Scouts' behavior at camp. She said her son and Scouts his age are too young to be aware how unusual Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric is for a president. "That's what worries me about this incident," she said.

Last year, Trump called out media outlets as "fake news" and made other controversial comments in a heavily political speech at the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree. "Boy Scout values are American values," Trump said at the 2017 National Jamboree in West Virginia. "As the Scout law says, a scout is trustworthy, loyal. We could use some more loyalty, I will tell you that."

Boys Scouts of America Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh apologized for Trump's speech. "I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree," he said.