Nicholas Sandmann’s lawsuit against the Washington Post has been dismissed.
Sandmann is the Covington Catholic, Kentucky high school student shown in a video and photos with Native American Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial earlier this year.
U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman dismissed the lawsuit agreeing with the Post that Sandmann’s lawsuit claims were “not supported by the plain language in the article.” The article “cannot be reasonably read as charging Sandmann with physically intimidating Phillips or committing the criminal offense of assault,” Bertelsman ruled, according to BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed noted that Sandmann intends to appeal.
The Post told iMediaEthics by email: “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. We are pleased that the case has been dismissed.”
Sandmann announced $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post in February. The Post then added a lengthy editor’s note to its article on him updating the story.
The next month, he sued CNN, and then he sued NBC Universal.
iMediaEthics has written to Sandmann’s attorney and the Washington Post.
Updated: 10:57 p.m. EST With response from The Washington Post.