Lawyers for Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann and his family have sent preservation letters to media and celebrities. These letters hint at possible libel and defamation lawsuits due to the treatment Sandmann received from these entities after a short video went viral of him on the Lincoln Memorial with Native Americans.
Sandwood’s libel and defamation lawyer Lin Wood has also circulated a 15 minute video in an effort to show that his client did not confront or antagonize Nathan Phillips and others as many said since they relied on the short video that took off on Twitter.
The video already has almost 45,000 views. About 6 minutes in, the lawyers show footage that the media ignored. It shows one of the Native Americans getting into the face of one Sandmann’s peers. As the chants from the Native Americans grow louder, Sandmann looks back at his peer and signals to him to stop talking.
From The Cincinnati Enquirer:
The list includes 50-plus names of organizations or individuals: from presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren to actress Alyssa Milano; individual journalists including Maggie Haberman, Ana Cabrera and David Brooks; national media outlets like the The New York Times, CNN, GQ and TMZ; and the dioceses of Covington and Lexington as well as the archdioceses of Louisville and Baltimore.Nick, as well as his school, faced threats from those angered by video showing him, his classmates and Native Americans engaged in a much-debated confrontation. Some of the students wore “Make America Great Again” hats. Some students chanted and performed the tomahawk chop.The legal counsel representing Nick and his family, Todd McMurtry and experienced libel and defamation lawyer L. Lin Wood of Atlanta, have said they will seek justice for the harm allegedly done to the teen.McMurtry said an example of false reports were those saying Nick got into the face of Phillips.McMurtry added his belief that some in the aftermath of the incident “permanently stained (Nick’s) reputation.”
Seven lawyers have devoted all their time lately to review all media over the events that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial. McMurtry said they “concluded we have a good faith basis to sue” some of the media outlets, but that “not all the organizations who were sent letters will necessarily be sued.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer listed all of the 54 entities in its article. McMurtry stated that they “don’t want this to happen again” and hope to teach everyone the lesson that “the media cannot state as fact things that aren’t true.”
The letter asks the recipients to “preserve all information that may be relevant to the Sandmann Matter” from January 17 to now in case Sandmann and his family decide to “pursue litigation.” The lawyers remind them that “[T]his obligation extends to all persons controlled by, or affiliated with, XXXXXX.”
Preservation Letter by on Scribd
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