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The mother of a boy filmed harassing a Native American man along with his friends at a rally in Washington DC has blamed “black Muslims” for the confrontation, without providing any evidence for the claim.

The teenager was among a group of students wearing Make America Great Again (Maga) hats who were criticised for taunting the musician Nathan Phillips, surrounding him and jeering and chanting “build the wall, build the wall”.

But his mother claimed “black Muslims” had been harassing the group of Donald Trump supporters from the private, all-male Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky.

In an email to the news website heavy.com the mother of a Covington Catholic student, believed to be the boy prominently featured in footage of the incident, wrote: “Did you hear the names of the people were calling these boys? It was shameful. Did you witness the black Muslims yelling profanities and video taping to get something to further your narrative of hatred??

“Did you know that this ‘man’ came up to this one boy and drummed in his face?”

The encounter took place following an anti-abortion March for Life rally in the capital on Friday.

Footage of the confrontation involving Mr Phillips, reportedly a veteran of the Vietnam war and an elder of Nebraska’s Omaha tribe, was shared online by organisers of an indigenous peoples’ march that also took place on the same day.

A separate video showed a group of black men standing near the scene of the confrontation, arguing aggressively with the Maga hat-wearing students. It is unclear to which religious group the men belonged, but they could be heard quoting passages from the Old Testament.

Extended footage also depicts the apparent leader of the religious group hurling homophobic slurs at the students. “That’s Make America Great Again, a bunch of child-molesting f****ts”, he is heard to say. Another member of the group – who seems to be the one filming – is recorded calling the children “dirty-ass crackers” and “racist bastards”. Approaching the students, he continues loudly: “Look at all these dusty-ass crackers with that racist garbage on.”

Amid claims online that Mr Phillips had himself participated in harassing the boys, the same video shows the moment he arrived at the scene of the confrontation. The 64-year-old can be seen interposing himself between the two groups, apparently ending a few yards away from both, before the students approach him and begin chanting.

Another separate clip appears to show further abuse directed at the boys. A man – not Mr Phillips – can be heard to say: “You white people go back to Europe, this is not your land.”

The apparent intimidation of Mr Phillips, meanwhile, has prompted a torrent of outrage. Actress and activist Alyssa Milano tweeted that the footage “brought me to tears”, while actor Chris Evans said the students’ actions were “appalling” and “shameful”. 

Democratic congresswoman Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo tribe, tweeted that the students had shown “blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance”.

Ruth Buffalo, a North Dakota state lawmaker and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation tribe, said she was saddened to see students showing disrespect to an elder who is also a military veteran.

“The behaviour shown in that video is just a snapshot of what indigenous people have faced and are continuing to face,” said Ms Buffalo.

Both the Catholic high school and the Diocese of Covington have apologised and condemned the actions of the students.

“We extend our deepest apologies to Mr Phillips. This behaviour is opposed to the church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.

“The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion,” the statement said.

Covington Catholic High School has since closed its Facebook page.

“When I was there singing, I heard them saying, ‘Build that wall, build that wall,’” Mr Phillips said, as he wiped away tears in a video later posted on Instagram. “This is indigenous lands. We’re not supposed to have walls here. We never did.”

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Mr Phillips said he believed the Covington students were “in the process of attacking” the religious group, but video footage does not appear to bear out that claim.

Additional reporting by agencies