Judge Allows Covington Student’s Defamation Suit Against NBC to Proceed

Nick Sandmann from Covington Catholic High School stands in front of Native American activist Nathan Phillips while the latter bangs a drum in his face in Washington on Jan. 18, 2019. Kaya Taitano via Reuters

A defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal filed by Nicholas Sandmann, a teenager from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky accused by legacy media of picking a fight with an elderly activist in the nation’s capital in January, is being allowed to move forward after a series of legal setbacks.

Sandmann, who claims he was wrongly portrayed as the aggressor, may now proceed with two other defamation lawsuits against The Washington Post and CNN. He’s asking for $275 million in punitive and compensatory damages against NBC for generating a “false narrative” driven by its “anti-Trump agenda.”