A federal judge in Cincinnati said Monday he'll allow part of Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann's lawsuit to continue on to a discovery phase, after initially dismissing his case.
In his order, Judge William Bertelsman said he stands by his decision that 30 out of the 33 statements in the article that Sandmann's lawyers claimed were libelous were not, but three others require further review and will not allow him to "retreat" from the lawsuit altogether, reports USA Today.
The amended complaint also claims that Phillips "deliberately lied" and that the Post should have known about his "unsavory reputation" because it had deliberately covered him before.
Bertelsman's order allowing discovery to continue will allow Sandmann's lawyers to request internal documents from the Washington Post about the events of the day, including emails and other communications between editors and reporters.
Sandmann and his lawyers argue that the Post reported he either assaulted or physically intimidated Native American activist Nathan Phillips and acted in a racist manner toward him after the Jan. 18 Right to Life March in Washington, D.C.
In a video that went viral, Sandmann and Phillips are shown standing close to each other in a crowd, with Sandmann staring at Phillips, who was beating a drum.
According to Sandmann's attorneys, the Post had characterized him as acting aggressively, which exposed him to public ridicule.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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