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| Jackass teen loses his fight against The Washington Post. He will likely lose his fight against CNN and NBC. |
Nick Sandmann who attended Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky was the twerp who smirked at a Native American chief at Washington DC pro-life rally.
Sandmann became the face of white privilege and extremism. He wore that like a badge that day.
According to the filing, which calls for $250 million compensatory and punitive damages, Sandmann claimed the Post's reporting on the incident in numerous stories were both false and defamatory.
Judge William O. Bertelsman, citing the First Amendment, disagreed.
"Few principles of law are as well-established as the rule that statements of opinion are not actionable in libel actions," Bertelsman wrote, per the Post's reporting tonight. "The statements that Sandmann challenges constitute protected opinions that may not form the basis for a defamation claim."
Sandmann's father, Ted, says he plans on appealing the ruling.
In a statement published by WaPo, Sandmann's dad called it a matter of "vital national importance" and vowed to continue to fight for "justice for my son and family."
"If what was done to Nicholas is not legally actionable, then no one is safe," he warned.
Sandmann, who was in Washington, DC, with his peers for the anti-abortion March for Life event, was widely pegged as an instigator of a confrontation with Nathan Phillips. But videos that surfaced later showed the students were verbally harassed by a group of black street preachers who also taunted a group of Native Americans, and Phillips was the one who walked in between them while beating a drum.
The lawsuit alleged the Washington Post smeared the high school student in its "war against the president" and accused Sandmann of being a racist. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman said in his ruling Friday that the newspaper never named Sandmann in its initial reporting, instead writing that "hat wearing teens" were involved in the incident, nor did it publish any photo of him.
Bertelsman said the words used do not identify any particular individual and therefore are not defamation.
Sandmann is still trying to sue CNN and NBC for defamation. Those cases are pending. It's likely he'll probably lose this one as well. He might have to pay for the court costs.
Next month, I'll do another Sean Hannity Word Vomit. I've taken a break from listening and watching that annoying far-white agitator. He still dominates the news cycle. Not only being the "shadow" chief of staff for Donald J. Trump, but a media personality who believes he's "untouchable."
His days are numbered. I bet you money Sean "Softball" Hannity will tumble. He will tumble fast.
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