Media organizations, celebrities and politicians have received letters from lawyers representing Nick Sandmann, the student from Covington Catholic High School who was seen standing in front of Native American Vietnam Veteran Nathan Phillips at a demonstration in Washington, D.C.
Alyssa Milano, the New York Times, Jim Carrey, the Washington Post and the diocese of Covington are among the recipients of preservation papers, which advised recipients not to destroy any documents related to the case.
Sandmann’s family is gearing up for a potential libel and defamation suit.
The Cincinnati Inquirer first reported a partial list of organizations. Fox News confirmed the remainder with Todd McMurtry, an attorney representing Sandmann.
“It’s an enormous pool of possible defendants,” McMurtry told Fox.
McMurtry is part of a team of lawyers representing Sandmann in the weeks following his behavior thrust his school and classmates into the national media spotlight. Sandmann, who also released a 15-minute video which shows what he calls “the truth,” was seen smiling directly in front of Phillips while flanked by his classmates, many wearing MAGA hats, shouting nearby.
Though videos containing more of the student’s deplorable behavior surfaced, national media outlets soon walked back their initial assessments of the video footage, with CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeting out Sandmann’s professionally-prepared response to a weekend of controversy. Culminating with a televised interview on NBC’s Today Show with Savanah Guthrie, Sandmann was a rumored guest of the White House by the end of a weekend that saw him widely criticized for his behavior.
McMurtry told the Inquirer that the incident has “permanently stained” his client’s reputation, and that Elizabeth Warren and the other individuals addressed in their letters may have libeled his client with erroneous reporting.
Sandmann’s legal team further pleads his case during a 15-minute YouTube video.
“2 weeks ago,” reads the video’s description, “the mainstream media, politicians, church officials, commentators & celebrities rushed to judgment to wrongfully condemn, threaten, disparage & vilify Nick Sandmann based solely on a few seconds of an out-of-context video clip. It only takes 15 minutes to learn the truth.”
Sandmann will get the chance to plead his case in a court of law.