Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann has reached a settlement with the Washington Post over their inaccurate coverage of the teen after he was involved in a viral interaction with a Native American man.
And he received the good news on his 18th birthday.
“On 2/19/19, I filed [a] $250M defamation lawsuit against Washington Post,” he wrote on Twitter. “Today, I turned 18 [and] WaPo settled my lawsuit.”
Sandmann thanked his lawyers and family for sticking by him after a vicious media tried to smear him.
Lin Wood, one of Sandmann’s attorneys also declared, “For our present to [Nick] to celebrate his 18th Birthday, [his other attorney Todd McMurtry and] I gave Nicholas the gift of justice from . . . THE WASHINGTON POST.”
It is the second such ‘gift of justice,’ with the Covington student agreeing to terms with CNN in a multi-million dollar settlement in January.
On 2/19/19, I filed $250M defamation lawsuit against Washington Post. Today, I turned 18 & WaPo settled my lawsuit. Thanks to @ToddMcMurtry & @LLinWood for their advocacy. Thanks to my family & millions of you who have stood your ground by supporting me. I still have more to do.
— Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) July 24, 2020
Well-Known Bias
Sandmann became the main focus of a media eager to portray supporters of President Trump as racists. And he happened to be wearing a MAGA hat at a rally in Washington, appearing in a video of an alleged confrontation with a Native American man.
He was accused of being a racist by the mainstream media simply for standing in front of the man, though other video debunked that notion and actually proved Sandmann handled the matter with aplomb, deescalating the situation.
Facts and a need for context didn’t stop the Washington Post from going after him regardless.
Not only did the Post insinuate that Sandmann instigated the incident, they even published follow-up stories claiming that the media were the true victims in the case.
“The Post ignored basic journalist standards,” the lawsuit read in part, “because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters of the President.”
Washington Post joins CNN in paying to settle Nick Sandmann case. He was KY high school kid in MAGA hat at Lincoln Memorial who media & social media mob savaged. Good for him. https://t.co/vrG3yaFGwM
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 24, 2020
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More to Come
With two defamation settlements under his belt, Sandmann hinted of even more to come.
He took particular aim at Twitter, the social media platform well known for censoring conservatives.
“We have settled with WAPO and CNN. The fight isn’t over. 2 down. 6 to go,” he announced. “Don’t hold your breath [Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey].”
President Trump took delight in hearing the lawsuit announced in February tweeting, “Go get them Nick. Fake News!”
He’s getting them alright. Could Sandmann’s efforts turn the fake news media upside down by forcing them to actually report accurately in the future?
If they have to keep paying out cash, it just might.
