Judge dismisses ex-Covington Catholic student's defamation lawsuits against media outlets

A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed defamation lawsuits filed by former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann against five national media outlets, including The Enquirer’s owner, Gannett Co.

Sandmann, who according to his Twitter account now attends Transylvania University in Lexington, pursued multiple lawsuits against media outlets over reporting about a viral video from 2019. The video showed a Jan. 18, 2019 encounter in Washington, D.C., involving Sandmann, then 16 years old, and a Native American man, Nathan Phillips.

In an opinion issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman said the media outlets – Gannett, The New York Times, Rolling Stone magazine, ABC News and CBS News – reported statements by Phillips that were "objectively unverifiable" and thus constitutionally protected opinions. The Enquirer was one of several Gannett-owned news outlets that reported on the encounter.

In the video, Sandmann and Phillips, who was demonstrating as part of Indigenous Peoples Day, face each other in a crowd on the National Mall. Sandmann and his classmates from the Park Hills, Kentucky school were there that day for the March for Life.

Bertelsman focused on Phillips’ statement to The Washington Post, which was quoted in a New York Times article. Phillips said Sandmann “blocked my way and wouldn’t allow me to retreat.” Bertelsman said reporting by the other four news outlets differed “slightly.”

The judge said the news outlets were covering “a matter of great public interest” and reported Phillips’ first-person view of what he experienced. The “blocking statements,” he said, were constitutionally protected opinions.

Bertelsman reviewed multiple videos of the encounter, which he said showed Phillips “drumming and approaching” a group of students that included Sandmann.

Eventually, Phillips stopped directly in front of Sandmann. As Phillips approached, Bertelsman said Sandmann “subtly adjusted his footing, but it is unclear if he actually moved from where he stood.”

Phillips never asked Sandmann to move. He also didn’t try to walk by Sandmann, the judge said. At the same time, Sandman didn’t “change his position while Phillips played his drum," which the judge noted was within inches of Sandmann’s face.

It is undisputed that the two never spoke to each other.

“Sandmann had no way of knowing that Phillips was trying to pass him,” Bertelsman said. “Likewise, Phillips had no way to confirm his belief that Sandmann intended to block him and would not allow him to retreat.”

The encounter ended when a chaperone arrived and told the students that their buses had arrived, the judge said.

A spokesman for The New York Times said the decision "reaffirms that the Times provided a fair account of the controversy surrounding the events that took place that day on the National Mall."

A Gannett spokesperson said the decision speaks for itself and declined further comment.

Todd McMurtry, an attorney for Sandmann, said they are disappointed with the decision and plan to appeal.

Sandmann had sued Gannett for $195 million. In total, he was seeking $1.25 billion through the multiple lawsuits.

In 2020, CNN and The Washington Post reached settlements with Sandmann. And last year, NBC settled. Details were not disclosed.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Nick Sandmann defamation lawsuits dismissed by federal judge