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Covington Catholic graduate Nick Sandmann hired by McConnell's 2020 reelection campaign

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's 2020 reelection campaign has hired Nick Sandmann, the Kentucky teenager whose recorded encounter with a Native American elder in Washington, D.C, went viral last year.

Sandmann, a Transylvania University student who was once again in the spotlight this week when he spoke at the Republican National Convention, now lists himself as a grassroots director for Team Mitch on his Twitter account.

McConnell is running for another term in the Senate this November, and Team Mitch press secretary Kate Cooksey confirmed Friday that Sandmann is a paid employee of the longtime senator's campaign.

McConnell's campaign manager Kevin Golden provided this statement on the new hire: "We’re excited to have Nicholas on Team Mitch. Along with our already strong team, his efforts to bring people together all across Kentucky will be critical to Senator McConnell’s victory this November."

Nick Sandmann addresses RNC: 'I would not be canceled.'

Sandmann was still in high school in January 2019 when he first attracted national attention after a video he was in received millions of views.

The video showed Sandmann, sporting the signature "Make America Great Again" hat supporters of President Donald Trump often wear, and Native American elder Nathan Phillips facing each other as they stood amid a crowd in Washington.

Sandmann was visiting D.C. as part of a trip with classmates from Covington Catholic High School in Northern Kentucky to join the anti-abortion March for Life. Phillips was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March.

Social media swiftly filled with posts accusing Sandmann of racism, antagonism and privilege. News outlets across the nation reported the story.

Sandmann later sued CNN and The Washington Post, with which he settled for undisclosed amounts of money. He also has filed lawsuits against five more news companies, including Gannett, the owner of The Courier Journal and USA TODAY.

More: 'Firewall against Nancy Pelosi’s agenda': How Mitch McConnell became one of Donald Trump's key confidantes

Now, well over a year after that video went viral, Sandmann has graduated high school and is attending college.

He has pushed back against negative portrayals of him in the news media. In his RNC speech this week, he said he "would not be canceled."

"What I thought was a strange encounter quickly developed into a major news story complete with video footage," he said. "My life changed forever in that one moment. The full war machine of the mainstream media revved up into attack mode."

On his Twitter account, Sandmann tweeted Thursday: "finally got to add more to my bio than just my schools."

The McConnell campaign's official Twitter account responded: "Welcome to #TeamMitch!"

Follow Morgan Watkins on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Nick Sandmann hired by Mitch McConnell's 2020 reelection campaign