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The lawyers representing Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann and his family said Friday they have sent letters to media outlets, individual journalists, celebrities and Catholic organizations as the first step in possible libel and defamation lawsuits.
The list includes 50-plus names of organizations or individuals: from presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren to actress Alyssa Milano; individual journalists including Maggie Haberman, Ana Cabrera and David Brooks; national media outlets like the The New York Times, CNN, GQ and TMZ; and the dioceses of Covington and Lexington as well as the archdioceses of Louisville and Baltimore.
Nick, as well as his school, faced threats from those angered by video showing him, his classmates and Native Americans engaged in a much-debated confrontation. Some of the students wore "Make America Great Again" hats. Some students chanted and performed the tomahawk chop.
The legal counsel representing Nick and his family, Todd McMurtry and experienced libel and defamation lawyer L. Lin Wood of Atlanta, have said they will seek justice for the harm allegedly done to the teen.
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McMurtry said the following organizations and people are those who can expect to receive the letters, which were all sent by the close of business on Friday.
The Washington Post
The New York Times
Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN)
The Guardian
National Public Radio
TMZ
Atlantic Media Inc.
Capitol Hill Publishing Corp.
Diocese of Covington
Diocese of Lexington
Archdiocese of Louisville
Diocese of Baltimore
Ana Cabrera
Sara Sidner
Erin Burnett
S.E. Cupp
Elliot C. McLaughlin
Amanda Watts
Emanuella Grinberg
Michelle Boorstein
Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Antonio Olivo
Joe Heim
Michael E. Miller
Eli Rosenberg
Isaac Stanley-Becker
Kristine Phillips
Sarah Mervosh
Emily S. Rueb
Maggie Haberman
David Brooks
Shannon Doyne
Kurt Eichenwald
Andrea Mitchell
Savannah Guthrie
Joy Reid
Chuck Todd
Noah Berlatsky
Elisha Fieldstadt
Eun Kyung Kim
HBO
Bill Maher
Warner Media
Conde Nast
GQ
Heavy.com
The Hill
The Atlantic
Bustle.com
Ilhan Omar
Elizabeth Warren
Kathy Griffin
Alyssa Milano
Jim Carrey"They know they crossed the line," McMurtry said. "Do they want 12 people in Kentucky to decide their fate? I don't think so."
He added that those on the list will "raise legal defenses and challenges that we'll have to overcome, but that's the way it goes."
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After a review, the lawyers "concluded we have a good faith basis to sue" certain organizations, McMurtry said. However, he said not all the organizations who were sent letters will necessarily be sued. He added that this process will not be over quickly.
McMurtry said his clients will also be demanding retractions and apologies in addition to possible litigation.
"We want to change the conversation. We don't want this to happen again," McMurtry said. "We want to teach people a lesson."
He went on to say the lesson that is the media cannot state as fact things that aren't true.
"There was a rush by the media to believe what it wanted to believe versus what actually happened," McMurtry said.
The students were in Washington D.C. for a March for Life event.
Phillips, the Native American elder, said he approached the students to defuse a tense exchange between them and a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, a reported hate group.
Phillips has said he felt intimidated by the students.
The first short clip that caught the attention of people on social media prompted calls of racism. Extended footage later surfaced in the days after the event, showing the reported hate group lobbing insults at the students.
McMurtry said the next steps for lawyers will likely involve conversations and negotiations with the legal teams of organizations and then possibly filing lawsuits.
"For the mob to just go tear apart a 16-year-old boy is inexcusable," McMurtry said.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/02/01/sandmanns-lawyer-media-they-know-they-crossed-line/2745272002/