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Ohio Christian Alliance asks the Justice Department to investigate the threats against Covington Catholic High School.
Kareem Elgazzar, [email protected]

CINCINNATI – The legal team representing Kentucky student Nick Sandmann has filed suit in federal court seeking $ 250 million in damages against the Washington Post, according to Nick's lawyer.

Todd McMurtry and L. Lin Wood, representing the teenager at Covington Catholic High School and his family, complained Tuesday, according to a tweet from McMurtry.

The tweet included a link to McMurtry's law firm's website, which included the text of the lawsuit. The trial was not yet available Tuesday night in the role of the East Kentucky court, the federal court where lawyers said the lawsuit had been filed.

The complaint says "no less than six fake and defamatory articles" about Nick published by The Post.

Nick Sandmann, center left, stands in front of Native American activist Nathan Phillips at a rally in Washington, D.C. (Photo11: Survival Media Agency via AP, Survival Media Agency)

Kristine Coratti Kelly, vice president of communications for The Post, said by email that the company is currently reviewing the lawsuit.

"We plan to put up a strong defense," wrote Coratti Kelly.

The cover of the post is equated with a "modern form of McCarthyism" by Nick's lawyers in the lawsuit. The lawyers say that the Post has competed with other national media to "claim leadership" from a crowd of "bullies who have attacked, defamed and threatened Nicholas Sandmann".

The lawyers accuse The Post of reporting a false and defamatory "allegation" that Sandmann "assaulted and / or physically intimidated Phillips" and "incited a confrontation with Phillips and later racist conduct."

Nathan Phillips is the eldest of the Omaha tribes who plays drums and sings in the viral videos taken last month at the Lincoln Memorial. Covington Catholic students stand around him, singing and interpreting the tomahawk technique.

Nick is face to face with Phillips for part of the game.

The complaint also accuses the Post of reporting what Phillips had said in interviews, including that he felt threatened by students, that they had been chanting "Build this wall" and that "it is not safe." a "guy in the hat stood in front of me".

An investigation by an agency hired on behalf of the Diocese of Covington allowed Covington Catholic students to be found innocent, finding no student engaged in offensive or racist remarks. The report acknowledged that some students performed the tomahawk chop.

More: How publications on questionable social networks fed a viral storm of fire on Covington Catholic

More: Nathan Phillips says Catholic teenagers in Covington were disrespectful

Phillips, in a statement, confirmed his original view that the situation was dangerous and students' behavior "disrespectful, accused of racial bias and prejudicial".

The lawsuit also accuses the Post of publishing a "defamatory" statement published by the diocese. The statement was shared with the media after the incident and she condemned the actions of the students.

The story of One Post used the following description, which Nick's lawyers described as defamatory of Nick: "Phillips (his entourage) is a crowd of young teenagers, mostly white … with another standing about a foot from the drummer's face, sporting an implacable smile.

Nick's lawyers did not immediately answer the questions on the lawsuit filed by The Enquirer on Tuesday night.

The lawsuit also claims that by publishing its first article, The Post has stoked "the flames of the social media crowd in a traditional media frenzy of false attacks and threats against Nicholas".

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An Azcentral media critic tries to make sense of the outrage of social media after Savannah Guthrie's interview on NBC with student Nick Sandmann.
Arizona Republic

Jon Fleischaker, who represents the Louisville Courier-Journal and is the Kentucky Press Association's general counsel, previously told The Enquirer that potential defendants against Nick's lawyers would have a "legitimate argument" that Nick would be qualified as a public figure with a limited purpose, he participated in a public event and sought only publicity.

The lawsuit claims that Nick is a private figure because he previously had "no fame in the community" and his public statements after the incident, which included an appearance in NBC's "Today Show", were " reasonable, proportionate and in direct response to the false accusations against him ".

Fleischaker and David Marburger, a Cleveland-based lawyer who has spent years representing national media, previously told The Enquirer that verifiable facts, rather than opinions, should form the basis of a defamation complaint.

Marburger cited a 1999 Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that "only false statements of fact that can be proven can be used as a basis for defamation".

Sandmann's lawyers said the lawsuit was not intended to "advance a political agenda".

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