Sandmann says that when his group arrived at the Lincoln Memorial, he heard "four African American protesters" who were hurling "derogatory insults at our school group," including "racists," "bigots," "white crackers," "faggots," and "incest kids."
"They also taunted an African American student from my school by telling him that we would 'harvest his organs," Sandmann wrote, adding "I have no idea what that insult means, but it was startling to hear."
The teen added that he obtained a teacher's permission to lead the group of students in school spirit chants "to counter the hateful things that were being shouted at our group," after which the Native American protesters approached.
"I never interacted with this protestor. I did not speak to him. I did not make any hand gestures or other aggressive moves. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me. We had already been yelled at by another group of protestors, and when the second group approached I was worried that a situation was getting out of control where adults were attempting to provoke teenagers," says Sandmann.
"I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation," he said. "I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict. I said a silent prayer that the situation would not get out of hand."
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