Lawyers representing the family of 16-year-old Covington Catholic high school student Nicholas Sandmann have filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post.
A statement announcing the massive lawsuit warns that this battle against smears perpetrated by the media against the students, Sandmann in particular, “is only the beginning.”
At a quarter of a billion dollars, we’d say that’s a hell of a start.
Sandmann, the main focus of the original video which showed an alleged confrontation between Covington students and a Native-American man, became the face of the mainstream media’s Trump derangement syndrome.
He had committed the “crime” of standing in front of Nathan Phillips who walked towards him beating a drum, while the teenager dared to wear a MAGA hat. He was accused of confronting Phillips. He was accused of being racist.
The out-of-context video was debunked when subsequent videos from different angles and longer time periods thoroughly exonerated the students from the charges that were leveled against them.
Today the Covington Catholic students filed a lawsuit seeking $250 million in damages against the Washington Post
Dozens more lawsuits expected as parents seek justice for their kids who have been slandered and defamed for the past month by the media
About time we fight back!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 19, 2019
Following further investigation, the diocese of Covington – which had originally jumped to conclusions about the incident – declared that the students had been cleared of any wrongdoing, paving the way for the first of what may become several lawsuits.
Not only did the Washington Post insinuate that Sandmann instigated the incident, they even published follow-up stories claiming that the media were the true victims in the case.
What the Lawsuit Says
In January, Sandmann’s family announced they had hired Georgia attorney L. Lin Wood, once described by Dan Rather as an “attorney for the damned.”
Ironically, the Washington Post themselves reported on Wood’s hire, saying he “often (seeks) eye-popping damages for those he believes have been libeled or slandered in the press.”
Fitting then, that the same newspaper would be the first of those from which he is seeking ‘eye-popping damages.’
The lawsuit claims that the Washington Post targeted Sandmann “because he was the white, Catholic student wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ souvenir cap on a school field trip to the January 18 March for Life in Washington, D.C.”
“The Post ignored basic journalist standards,” it continues, “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.”
Go Get Them Nick!
Sandmann has at least one prominent voice cheering his legal efforts – the President of the United States.
Trump tweeted his support for the lawsuit against a media he has often times characterized as biased.
“The Washington Post ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.” Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019
Who Might Be Next?
The legal team, consisting of Wood and Todd McMurtry, issued a statement saying they “will continue to bring wrongdoers before the court to seek damages in compensation for the harm so many have done to the Sandmann family.”
“This is only the beginning,” they warned.
So who might be next to receive a notice for a massive lawsuit?
Earlier this month, McMurtry said the team would send warning letters to prominent figures and outlets in advance of any defamation lawsuit.
Those entities reportedly included the Washington Post along with CNN, The New York Times. In addition, the group included celebrities such as Jim Carrey, Alyssa Milano and Bill Maher — as well as politicians like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and others.
Though not referenced, many others took part in the smear campaign.
Sunny Hostin and Joy Behar, co-hosts of ‘The View,’ suggested that the Covington kids were to blame for the entire ordeal simply because they decided to wear MAGA hats.
Unhinged comedienne Kathy Griffin went on Twitter and tried doxxing the kids and by extension, making them victims of harassment and possible violence.
“We don’t want this to happen again. We want to teach people a lesson,” McMurtry has asserted. “There was a rush by the media to believe what it wanted to believe versus what actually happened.”
It’s far past time for the media to be held accountable for producing ‘fake news.’
