Trump Cheers Covington Lawsuit Against WaPo: 'Go Get Them Nick'
Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann goes for the Washington Post
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President Donald Trump cheered the defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post by Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann in a tweet early on Wednesday.
Sandmann's parents filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Washington Post following their coverage of the viral encounter between the teenager and Native American 'activist' Nathan Phillips.
The $250 million sums were chosen by Sandmann’s parents because it equaled what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos paid for the news outlet in 2013.
“The Post wrongfully targeted and bullied Nicholas because he was the white, Catholic student wearing a red ‘Make America Great Again’ souvenir cap on a school field trip to the January 18 March for Life in Washington, D.C., when he was unexpectedly and suddenly confronted by Nathan Phillips, a known Native American activist, who beat a drum and sang loudly within inches of his face,” the lawsuit states.
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According to the Washington Times, the complaint argues that the newspaper falsely conveyed the impression that the 16-year-old pro-life marcher “engaged in acts of racism by ‘swarming’ Phillips, ‘blocking’ his exit away from the students, and otherwise engaging in racist misconduct.”
“The Post ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump (‘the President’) by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters of the President,” said the filing on the Hemmer DeFrank Wessels law firm page.
Last Month Trump voiced public support for the Covington Catholic School students after they became the center of a global hate campaign.
President Trump accused the outlets of biased reporting, saying the students were "smeared by media."
“Looking like Nick Sandman [sic] & Covington Catholic students were treated unfairly with early judgments proving out to be false,” Trump tweeted.
“Not good, but making big comeback!”
“The Washington Post ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.” Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2019
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The viral video shows Sandmann committing a 'face crime' by smirking in the face of Phillips while the Native American activist chanted.
Sandmann was wearing a signature “Make America Great Again” hat in the video.
The Covington student later claimed in a statement that he was merely trying to defuse the situation, nothing more.
“I did smile at one point because I wanted him to know that I was not going to become angry, intimidated or be provoked into a larger confrontation,” he said.
“I am a faithful Christian and practicing Catholic, and I always try to live up to the ideals my faith teaches me — to remain respectful of others, and to take no action that would lead to conflict or violence.”
Sandmann and his fellow students where quickly labeled as the emblematic of white male privilege and supposed racism associated with supporting Trump.
But Videos of the event surfaced later showed that the students approached by a black extremist group and directly approached by Phillips and other Native American activists.
An investigation into the students’ conduct was commissioned by The Catholic Bishop of Covington, who found no wrongdoing on their part.
Foys wrote in a letter to parents, “Our students were placed in a situation that was at once bizarre and even threatening. Their reaction to the situation was, given the circumstances, expected and one might even say laudatory.”
