Student in faceoff with Native activist has suit against Washington Post dismissed

Nick Sandmann won't receive damages from The Washington Post, although he claims they defamed him with articles after his standoff with a Native American elder in January

Jul 29, 2019
Sandmann
In this Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 image made from video provided by the Survival Media Agency, a teenager wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, center left, stands in front of an elderly Native American singing and playing a drum in Washington. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington in Kentucky is looking into this and other videos that show youths, possibly from the diocese's all-male Covington Catholic High School, mocking Native Americans at a rally in Washington. (Survival Media Agency via AP)

A $250 million lawsuit filed by the Kentucky high schooler who was caught in a controversial standoff with a Native American elder against The Washington Post has been dismissed by a federal judge.

Nicholas Sandmann, 17, sued the newspaper for what he said was “a series of false and defamatory print and online articles.” The content stemmed from a confrontation with Omaha tribal activist Nathan Phillips in Washington D.C. in January during a school trip of student from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hill, Ky.

The teen landed on the front pages of newspapers nationwide while seemingly facing down Phillips while wearing a MAGA hat. Several parties disputed who started it, with some blaming a group of Black Hebrew Israelites sect that was nearby and others blaming the students on the trip.

READ MORE: Nick Sandmann on confrontation with Native American elder: ‘I had every right to do so.’

After the incident Sandmann asserted: “I am being called every name in the book, including a racist, and I will not stand for this mob-like character assassination,” he said in a statement previously.

Judge William O. Bertelsman determined that the Post’s seven articles and three tweets about Sandmann were opinions and protected by the First Amendment, CBS News reports.

Bertelsman ruled that the statements must be “more than annoying, offensive or embarrassing” to be deemed as defamation.

“Few principles of law are as well-established as the rule that statements of opinion are not actionable in libel actions,” Bertelsman wrote in court documents.

“And while unfortunate, it is further irrelevant that Sandmann was scorned on social media,” Bertelsman wrote.

Washington Post director of communications Shani George released a statement defending the paper’s reporting.

“From our first story on this incident to our last, we sought to report fairly and accurately the facts that could be established from available evidence, the perspectives of all of the participants, and the comments of the responsible church and school officials,” George said in a statement. “We are pleased that the case has been dismissed.”

However, the litigation for Sandmann is not over. In May he and his lawyers filed suit against NBC Universal for $275 million, citing similar damages.

READ MORE: MAGA hat teen in D.C. confrontation with Native American man sues NBC for $275M

Sandmann’s attorneys tweeted Friday that the family plans to file an appeal on the Post decision.

“I believe fighting for justice for my son and family is of vital national importance,” his father Ted Sandmann said in a statement. “If what was done to Nicholas is not legally actionable, then no one is safe.”

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