After a hiatus from Twitter, CNN contributor and USA Today columnist Kirsten Powers has returned to apologize for what she says were “judgmental and condemning” tweets about an incident involving Covington High School students, a Native American elder and a group of Black Israelites last month.

“I have spent the last few weeks in a mostly Twitter free zone to spend time reflecting on what role I may have played in what indisputably has become a dangerously toxic culture,” Powers wrote in a Twitter thread on Monday. “I am not proud of what I have found.”

In late January, Powers announced that she was deleting her Twitter app after being harassed online over her criticism of the Covington High School students’ interaction with Native American elder Nathan Phillips in Washington, D.C.

Also Read: Covington High Student Says He Never Sought Staredown With Native American Elder

“I agree with [Talking Points Memo editor and publisher Josh Marshall] that watching all the videos (which I did) does not change the fundamental problem: the boys disrespecting an Indigenous elder,” Powers wrote on Jan. 22. “The [people] harassing me to change my mind cannot convince me I didn’t see what I saw. Learn to respect difference of opinion.”

In a separate thread, Powers called “BS on the idea that [the Covington students] just burst into cheers randomly.”

Also Read: National Review Pulls Article Saying Covington Students 'Might as Well Have Just Spit on the Cross'

An investigation into the incident later found “no evidence of offensive or racist statements” by the students, according to a report posted on the Diocese of Covington website.

On Monday, Powers said she had since realized that in her effort to call out a wrong, she had betrayed her Catholic beliefs.

“As a Catholic I felt duty bound to speak up and hold them accountable, but that really isn’t my job,” she wrote. “I also don’t believe these teenagers should be tarnished forever for what amounts to one really bad day.”

Powers ended her thread with a pledge “to do better.”

Also Read: Covington Students Speak Out: 'I've Never Heard Such Cruel Things Wished Upon Another Human Being' (Video)

“I also hope to be part of a conversation — if we ever have it as a country — about the path to redemption for people who have stumbled and even failed spectacularly,” she wrote. “This is where I plan to put my focus and not on rendering judgements [sic] about other people’s behavior.”

Read her full thread below.





2) I work hard to see

every side of an issue and also speak up when I see a wrong. But in

doing that I am too often judgmental and condemning–both on and off social media–in a way that is

contrary to my belief system and my faith.







— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) February 18, 2019







4) Yes, this applies in the Covington case. This will please nobody because I still believe the teenagers were disrespectful, but my tweets were lacking in grace. As a Catholic I felt duty bound to speak up and hold them accountable, but that really isn't my job.

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) February 18, 2019







5) I also don't believe these teenagers should be tarnished forever for what amounts to one really bad day. I know that black teenage boys don't get this benefit of the doubt or grace, but I want more black teenage boys to get this benefit, not fewer white teenage boys.

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) February 18, 2019







6) It should be said I have been an equal opportunity scold, and liberals have been on the receiving end of my judgement and I regret that as well. I am rethinking my view on Al Franken, for example, after hearing from many friends on the issue of the rush to judgement.

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) February 18, 2019







7) I often am too rigid in trying to be pure in my principles and don't leave enough room for this mess of life. So I'm writing this as an apology to both left and right and making a pledge to do better.

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) February 18, 2019







8) I also hope to be part of a conversation — if we ever have it as a country — about the path to redemption for people who have stumbled and even failed spectacularly. This is where I plan to put my focus and not on rendering judgements about other people's behavior. THE END

— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) February 18, 2019





Read original story USA Today Reporter Kirsten Powers Apologizes for ‘Judgmental and Condemning’ Tweets About Covington Students At TheWrap