CNN settles defamation suit with Covington Catholic's Sandmann

After months of legal wrangling CNN has agreed to settle a defamation suit brought by Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandman. According to Cincinnati television station Fox 19, CNN settled the $275 million lawsuit, on Tuesday.

The settlement serves as a warning to biased media personalities who feel that they can destroy the reputation of private citizens exercising their right to free assembly just because they disagree with them.

The suit was brought by Sandmann after CNN latched on to the prevailing leftist narrative that Sandmann had provoked the encounter captured on video between himself and Native American Nathan Phillips. In March 2019, Sandmann's attorney, Todd McMurtry spoke with Fox News to highlight the reasons why his client was suing CNN.

MAGA teen's lawyer speaks out on $275M CNN lawsuitwww.youtube.com

McMurtry told Fox, "CNN's tagline is 'Facts First,' and what we believe their reporting was in this circumstance was lies first, coverup second, and facts not yet determined."

McMurtry continued that CNN "published four videos, nine online articles, that it tweeted out. So, that's millions and millions of repetitions of the lies and falsehoods that CNN spread."

According to Fox 19, Sandmann's lead attorney Lin Wood said that he is moving forward with lawsuits against the Washington Post and NBC Universal. He also said that a lawsuit against Gannett, the owner of the Cincinnati newspaper, The Enquirer, will be brought within the next two months.

Fox 19 also reported, "Attorneys say the money they're seeking is not designed to compensate Nick, but to 'deter the defendants' from doing the same thing (that they're accused of) in the future." That is an important point.

The incident that sparked the controversy took place at the 2019 March for Life in Washington, D.C., nearly a year ago. The 2020 March for Life will take place at the end of January. This settlement with CNN, especially after CNN tried to get the suit tossed out, serves as a warning to the media that it cannot target pro-life high school students taking part in this year's march.

Sandmann's legal victory is a victory for those that believe the media should be held up to its own standards. That it should report fairly the news, not through a biased lens. And finally, that it should not push false liberal narratives with impunity.

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