Lawyers representing Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann have announced the preparation of letters to be sent to various celebrities, media outlets, and individual journalists who immediately and falsely slandered Sandmann and his classmates for “taunting” a Native American during a trip to Washington D.C.
The student’s lawyers are preparing letters for possible libel and defamation lawsuits, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The list of recipients of the warning letters includes actress Alyssa Milano and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Targeted journalists include Maggie Haberman, David Brooks, and media outlets will include TMZ, CNN, and the New York Times. The attorneys have also identified the dioceses of Covington, Lexington, Louisville, and Baltimore as potential recipients of the letter.
Sandmann family attorney, Todd McMurtry, said of the media outlets and personalities, “They know they crossed the line. Do they want 12 people in Kentucky to decide their fate? I don’t think so.”
McMurtry added that the letters are meant to put an end to the instant attacks from the media before the facts are in.
“We want to change the conversation. We don’t want this to happen again,” McMurtry said. “We want to teach people a lesson.”
“There was a rush by the media to believe what it wanted to believe versus what actually happened,” McMurtry added.
Indeed, it was widely reported that the Covington students “surrounded” the Native Americans and “taunted” them calling out “build the wall.” But longer videos later proved that the students never moved and that it was the Native American group led by Nathan Phillips that approached the students. Longer video clips also proved that no one yelled “build the wall.” Nearly every single initial report on the incident was flawed and presented the kids as the aggressors when in truth they were not.
“For the mob to just go tear apart a 16-year-old boy is inexcusable,” McMurtry told the media. “He’ll never be able to get away from this.”
Assisting McMurtry will be the high-powered law firm of L. Lin Wood of Atlanta. Wood has represented clients such as the falsely accused Atlanta Olympics bomber and the family of murdered beauty contestant JonBenet Ramsey.
According to the Enquirer, the long list of people and outlets targeted includes:
- The Washington Post
- The New York Times
- Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN)
- The Guardian
- National Public Radio
- TMZ
- Atlantic Media Inc.
- Capitol Hill Publishing Corp.
- Diocese of Covington
- Diocese of Lexington
- Archdiocese of Louisville
- Diocese of Baltimore
- Ana Cabrera
- Sara Sidner
- Erin Burnett
- S.E. Cupp
- Elliot C. McLaughlin
- Amanda Watts
- Emanuella Grinberg
- Michelle Boorstein
- Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
- Antonio Olivo
- Joe Heim
- Michael E. Miller
- Eli Rosenberg
- Isaac Stanley-Becker
- Kristine Phillips
- Sarah Mervosh
- Emily S. Rueb
- Maggie Haberman
- David Brooks
- Shannon Doyne
- Kurt Eichenwald
- Andrea Mitchell
- Savannah Guthrie
- Joy Reid
- Chuck Todd
- Noah Berlatsky
- Elisha Fieldstadt
- Eun Kyung Kim
- HBO
- Bill Maher
- Warner Media
- Conde Nast
- GQ
- Heavy.com
- The Hill
- The Atlantic
- Bustle.com
- Ilhan Omar
- Elizabeth Warren
- Kathy Griffin
- Alyssa Milano
- Jim Carrey
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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