Students at a Newton County high school were punished Monday after making inappropriate remarks about people from Mexico in a video.

The video went viral on social media after someone posted it online, a school district spokeswoman said.

The video was an outtake from what began as a school project for students in an American Government class at Eastside High School in Covington, district spokeswoman Sherri Davis said. Students had to discuss different political views and make a video about their positions.

The district said one student jumped into another group’s project while they were filming and made inappropriate comments.

The video shows a student leading another student behind a gate at the school, emulating border control, Channel 2 Action News reported. A line of profanity about Mexicans appears on the screen, and a student steps in view of the camera and says “remember to (expletive) the Mexicans,” according to Channel 2.

That outtake video was uploaded to social media and shared repeatedly, Davis said.

“We don't condone what took place,” Davis told Channel 2. “It was an innocent project that students were working on.”

Davis said the school administration opened an investigation as soon as they were notified of the video. She said the students violated school policy and were disciplined, but did not say how.

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