Nicholas Sandmann, the smirking teen from Covington, Kentucky who was confronted by a Native American activist after he and his classmates were chanting MAGA slogans and wearing the Mark of the Beast on their foreheads, had five of the lawsuits he filed against national media outlets dismissed, the Lexington Herald Leader reports.
Then a 16-year-old smartass, Sandmann was shown smirking at Native American activist Nathan Phillips after Phillips reportedly approached the Covington students, some of whom mocked the group’s drum playing and chants, at the Lincoln Memorial in January 2019.
Sandmann filed suits against The New York Times, CBS, ABC, Gannett Co. Inc, and Rolling Stone claiming they intentionally characterized him in a defamatory way. Another party in the suit, CNN, had previously asked the judge to dismiss the case, which the judge granted. CNN and the Washington Post settled other lawsuits, likely for minimal amounts to get rid of the nuisance claims.
Tuesday, the other media outlets also moved for immediate dismissal, which the judge granted. Sandmann reportedly received a settlement from NBC. Sandmann sued NBC, MSNBC and their parent company for $275 million; it’s believed the settlement was for the low- to mid-six figures.
Sandmann was reportedly consulted by Kenosha, Wisconsin killer Kyle Rittenhouse on tactics to leverage money out of networks for the way he was characterized by major networks. That partnership is likely being reevaluated.