CNN has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit lodged by Covington Catholic High School Student Nick Sandmann Tuesday for its coverage of a protest on the National Mall in January of last year.
The exact amount of the settlement has not been made public.
Yes, We settled with CNN.
— Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) January 7, 2020
The agreement comes as part of a lawsuit brought by Sandmann against CNN, The Washington Post, and NBC Universal seeking a total of $800 million in damages alleging defamatory coverage of the 16-year-old high school student in his encounter with a native American in the nation’s capital. The lawsuit against The Washington Post sought $250 million and is partially still moving forward despite the Post’s attempt to dismiss the case, according to Fox News.
“This case will be tried not one minute earlier or later than when it is ready,” Lin Wood, Sandmann’s attorney told Fox19.
Wood also told the local outlet that the family would soon launch a case against Gannett.
The multiple lawsuits were kicked off after major network coverage of Sandmann’s interaction with protestors on the National Mall went viral falsely depicting the Kentucky teenager wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat of smirking as a native American addressed the student.
The later release of a longer video however, added critical context to the scene illustrating how Sandmann, on a school trip in Washington D.C. for the March for Life, was in reality being harassed by the native American and members of the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI).
The lawsuits filed by Sandmann claim the media outlets that vilified the teenager prompting viral outrage on the internet were motivated by the publications’ bias targeting Sandmann for being a Trump supporter.
The press coverage of the Covington Catholic students was one of the top 12 stories last year that the media majorly messed up.
