Media Outlets Denied Motion To Dismiss Defamation Lawsuits Against Covington Catholic Student

Motions filed to dismiss defamation lawsuits brought by Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann against multiple media outlets have been denied.

Defamation Lawsuits Filed Against Multiple Outlets

The New York Times, Rolling Stone, ABC, and CBS, and others, were all subject to defamation cases from Sandmann. He is arguing that they defamed him during their reporting of an encounter between himself and Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist during the March for Life in DC in 2019.

During the confrontation, Phillips approached Sandmann and other students from Covington Catholic High School, banging drums and shouting in their faces. Sandmann remained unmoved, and didn’t engage, but the media claimed he was “smug,” among other epithets.

The defamation suits that were filed all reference claims regarding quotes from Phillips, including that Sandmann and other Covington students blocked his exits.

Other statements from Phillips were defamatory and false, they argue, meaning the media outlets should have taken “reasonable journalistic care” when deciding whether to publish them or not. The suit further alleges Sandmann suffered emotional distress as a result.

An Important Step Against ‘A Media That Thinks It Has A License To Smear’

As a result, Sandmann sued a number of major publications who had repeated the smears, including CNN, Washington Post, and those mentioned above.

“CNN was probably more vicious in its direct attacks on Nicholas than The Washington Post. And CNN goes into millions of individuals’ homes,” Sandmann’s attorney Lin Wood said on Mark Levin’s Fox News program last year.

“CNN couldn’t resist the idea that here’s a guy with a young boy, that Make America Great Again cap on. So they go after him,” Wood added.

Sandmann reached settlements with both CNN and the Washington Post in January and July of this year respectively.

The four media outlets previously mentioned, however, filed motions to dismiss the suits against them, but they were denied on Thursday.

“Today marks another important step towards achieving justice against a media that thinks it has a license to smear,” Sandmann told The Post Millennial.