The lawyer for Covington Catholic high school student Nicholas Sandmann criticized the media’s rush to judgment on the incident during his Wednesday night appearance on Hannity.
Sandmann’s lawyer, Lin Woods, was on the show a day after Sandmann’s legal team filed a lawsuit against The Washington Post for its coverage of the incident from last month. The lawsuit seeks $250 million in damages, which is the amount for which Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos purchased the newspaper in 2013.
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“If Nicholas had not purchased that souvenir cap that day at the mall, if he was not wearing it, none of us would know who Nicholas Sandmann is. He would still be living his life privately, going to school without worrying about how his school and his classmates and the world feel about him. Here is a 16-year-old kid, Sean. It is tough being 16,” Wood stated. “Think about what this young boy is having to deal with at age 16 when the entire world saw him the way that the media portrayed him as literally the face of evil. It is inexcusable, reprehensible conduct by the media.”
Hannity responded, “I have read every word of your 38-page complaint that CNN is not far behind, NBC is not far behind, but Lin, I have to imagine if you add up all media outlets in this day and age and include Hollywood actors and actresses, with the fame behind – and power of the pulpit that they have. Hundreds, thousands of potential lawsuits here?” (RELATED: Nathan Phillips And Other Protesters Storm DC Basilica, Demand Punishment For Covington Boys)
“Certainly hundreds. The good news is that we have two-and-a-half years to identify and file lawsuits against the wrongdoers. Because he is a minor, Nick will turn 18 in July of 2020. We have two-and-a-half years. We have a lot of work to do. Because the social media and mainstream mob of bullies was extremely large in number,” Sandmann’s lawyer answered. (RELATED: Trump Says Covington Catholic Students ‘Making Big Comeback’)
“He exhibited the most respectful behavior of anyone involved in this incident. He was a child. He was accosted by adults. The Black Hebrew Israelites, as your clip showed, yelling the most obscene slurs at these boys. Homophobic, racist slurs,” Wood continued. “And then you have this character, Phillips. I say character, because—let me tell you—I have watched what he said, he does not tell the same story twice, because he is a liar.”
In the hours after the video went viral, Sandmann and his classmates were immediately depicted as the aggressors, but that changed as more information became available.
