Supreme Court Rejects Nick Sandmann’s Defamation Case Against Media Outlets

The former Covington Catholic High School student noted the decision on social media but did not comment on it.

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

The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down a case against news outlets that conveyed unsupported information from a Native American activist who approached students in Washington.

Nick Sandmann sued a number of news outlets after video footage showed that claims made by Nathan Phillips, the activist, and conveyed by The Washington Post and other outlets were false, including that Mr. Sandmann and other students “swarmed around him” and that Mr. Sandmann “blocked” his path and “prevented his escape.”