Nicholas Sandmann, the teenager seen on a now viral video starring at a Native American Vietnam veteran is gearing up a lawsuit against CNN to the tune of $250 million. The announcement came just a few weeks after Sandmann’s attorney revealed they would also sue The Washington Post for their coverage of the tense encounter.
“CNN was probably more vicious in its direct attacks on Nicholas than The Washington Post. And CNN goes into millions of individuals’ homes. It’s broadcast into their homes,” attorney L. Lin Wood said during a Fox News interview.
The Catholic Covington High School junior, seen wearing a MAGA hat, and Nathan Phillips are in the middle of a media storm. After watching the initial video, many accused the teen of taunting Phillips. However, Nicholas alleges he was actually doing the opposite and trying to quell a brewing tense situation.
“Now you say you’ve seen the tape. If you took the time to look at the full context of what happened that day, Nicholas Sandmann did absolutely nothing wrong. He was, as I’ve said to others, he was the only adult in the room. But you have a situation where CNN couldn’t resist the idea that here’s a guy, a young boy, with a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap on. So they go after him,” Wood added.
The breakdown for the lawsuit against the post is $50 million for reputational damages and $200 million in punitive damages are designed to “punish and deter.”
“I would think the punitive-damage award against CNN that we’ll seek will be at least the same $200 million as it was against The Washington Post. But the compensatory damage to Nicholas’s reputation, that number I expect will be higher,” Wood said.
