Lawsuit between The Washington Post and March for Life attendee, settled
Neither The Washington Post nor Sandmann revealed the terms under which they settled their case.
The Washington Post and the family of Nick Sandmann have settled their lawsuit regarding a viral video where Sandmann appeared to be disrespecting an Omaha tribe elder.
The video was widely spread across several news outlets and social media channels without the proper context.
At the time, Sandmann was a student at Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky. He was attending a March for Life rally in Washington, D.C. at the same time as Nathan Phillips, who was attending an Indigenous People’s March.
The two appeared to be at odds, but in reality, Sandmann along with other students were trying to fight back against attacks from Black Hebrew Israelites who were harassing them.
That encounter, which was apart of a second video that surfaced, proved that the Washington Post jumped to conclusions during their reporting and didn’t get the whole story straight.
“We are pleased that we have been able to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of the remaining claims in this lawsuit,” said Kris Coratti, a spokesperson for the Washington Post.
“Nicholas Sandmann agreed to settle with the Post because the Post was quick to publish the whole truth—through its follow-up coverage and editor’s notes,” Sandmann’s attorney, Todd McMurtry, said in an email.
Neither the Washington Post or Sandmann revealed the terms under which they settled their case. However, Sandmann did share the news on Friday with his Twitter followers.
“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,” he wrote.
READ MORE: Nick Sandmann on confrontation with Native American elder: ‘I had every right to do so.’
Throughout the case, Sandmann maintained his innocence saying he was trying to be a peacemaker by staying “motionless and calm.”
Last summer, a judge dismissed the case against the Washington Post, but eventually, he reinstated it once new information came to light.
Sandmann also sued CNN and settled in January. The details of that case were not disclosed.
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