Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post on Tuesday, accusing the newspaper of targeting him in “a modern-day form of McCarthyism.”
Attorneys for 16-year-old Sandmann — who was filmed in a viral confrontation with a Native American man in Washington, DC — claim the newspaper led a “mob of bullies which attacked, vilified & threatened” an innocent minor.
“Washington Post recklessly ignored basic journalist standards because it was eager to advance its biased agenda against @realDonaldTrump by impugning individuals perceived to be his supporters,” attorney Lin Wood said in a statement.
“Nick Sandmann was perceived as an easy target. He is 16. Inexcusable on every level.”
The Kentucky student was with his class in the nation’s capital to take part in an anti-abortion rally on Jan. 18 when he was confronted by 64-year-old Nathan Phillips.
The video set off a social media firestorm, with some people insisting the incident was racially motivated and instigated by the high school students.
Many published stories about the incident, and many viral videos, had inaccurate or incomplete information.
The lawsuit claims that the Washington Post “ignored the truth and falsely accused Nicholas of, among other things, ‘accost[ing]’ Phillips by ‘suddenly swarm[ing]’ him in a ‘threaten[ing]’ and ‘physically intimidat[ing]’ manner.”
While filing the lawsuit, Sandmann’s attorney warned that “All members of the mainstream & social media mob of bullies who recklessly & viciously attacked Nick would be well-served to read it carefully.”