Nick Sandmann, who was in the middle of a controversial confrontation with a Native American demonstrator at the Lincoln Memorial last month, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post.
Sandmann made national news after he appeared in a video with a Native American leader, who approached him and banged a drum in his face. Initially, it appeared as though the high school student was trying to intimidate activist Nathan Phillips.
However, longer videos showed that Phillips actually approached Sandmann and the group of high school students, who were in Washington D.C. to participate in the anti-abortion March for Life.
“The Post negligently and recklessly published its False and Defamatory Accusations despite internal inconsistencies in Phillips’ claims as well as material differences in his statements to other outlets published January 19 and 20,” Sandmann’s lawyers said. “The Post negligently and recklessly published its False and Defamatory Accusations in derogation of accepted principles of journalistic ethics, including by failing to use heightened sensitivity when dealing with juveniles.”
The lawsuit claims that the Post competed “to claim leadership of a mainstream and social media mob of bullies which attacked, vilified, and threatened Nicholas Sandmann.”
“The Post must be dealt with the same way every bully is dealt with and that is to hold the bully fully accountable for its wrongdoing in a manner which effectively deters the bully from again bullying other children,” the lawsuit reads.
Sandmann seeks $250 million in damages from the lawsuit.
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