Kentucky teen settles $250m defamation lawsuit against Washington Post after claiming the outlet made him out to be a racist following his stand-off with a Native American at the Lincoln Memorial
- Nicholas Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School, said on Friday he had settled a $250 million defamation lawsuit
- He sued the outlet claiming they made him out to be a racist following his stand-off with a Native American protester in Washington DC last year
- The teen said the lawsuit was settled on his 18th birthday
- He filed suits against the Post, CNN and NBC after claiming the outlets vilified him following his stand-off with Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial
- Sandmann, who was wearing a MAGA hat, was participating in the annual anti-abortion March for Life , while Phillips was in an Indigenous Peoples March
- An image of Sandmann staring down Phillips while the Native American was drumming and singing quickly went viral
A Kentucky high school student says he has settled a $250 million lawsuit with the Washington Post on his 18th birthday after he sued them claiming they made him out to be a racist following his stand-off with a Native American protester.
Nicholas Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School, tweeted that the news outlet had settled the defamation lawsuit on Friday, which also happens to be his birthday.
Sandmann filed lawsuits against the Post, CNN and NBC after claiming the outlets vilified him following his stand-off with Nathan Phillips, an American Indian activist, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in January 2019.
‘On 2/19/19, I filed $250M defamation lawsuit against Washington Post. Today, I turned 18 & WaPo settled my lawsuit,’ Sandmann said.
Nicholas Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School, says he has settled his defamation lawsuit with the Washington Post after claiming they made him out to be a racist following his stand-off with a Native American protester (above) in Washington DC last year
He went on to thank his attorneys and those who supported him in filing the 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,’ he said.
Sandmann did not reveal what the settlement was.
He settled a lawsuit with CNN in January for an undisclosed amount.
Sandmann and his family were seeking combined damages of more than $525 million against the outlets.
The teen claimed the outlets had falsely conveyed to viewers and readers that he was ‘the face of an unruly mob’ facing off against Phillips during protests at the memorial while he was in Washington DC on a field trip.
Sandmann, who was wearing a MAGA hat, and his classmates were participating in the annual anti-abortion March for Life in January at the time, which coincided with an Indigenous Peoples March.
An image of Sandmann staring down Phillips while the Native American was drumming and singing quickly went viral.
Both Sandmann and Phillips had said they were trying to defuse tensions rising among three groups marching on the same day.
An organization of black ‘Hebrew Israelites’ demonstrating nearby added to the confusion.
While Sandmann was initially characterized as a smug racist who initiated a physical confrontation, wideo footage later debunked that interpretation.
Some outlets had reported that Sandmann and his classmates had ‘surrounded’ and ‘taunted’ the 64-year-old Phillips. They also claimed that a ‘smirking’ Sandmann had stood in Phillip’s path, blocking him from moving.
Sandmann (right) was participating in the annual anti-abortion March for Life, while Phillips (left) was in an Indigenous Peoples March. Both Sandmann and Phillips had said they were trying to defuse tensions rising among three groups marching on the same day