Meghan’s extravagant shower sparks flood of indignation
The Kentucky teen at the heart of an encounter last month with a Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington is suing The Washington Post for $250 million (NZ$369m), alleging the newspaper falsely labelled him a racist. His attorneys are threatening numerous other news organisations, including The Associated Press.
President Donald Trump cheered the lawsuit, tweeting that ‘‘Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!’’ The legal action, and possible future ones, comes at a time of intense scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with the press, which he has repeatedly labelled the ‘‘enemy of the people.’’ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas this week suggested revisiting a cornerstone of modern press freedom, the 1964 New York Times Co v Sullivan case, which established knowing or reckless disregard of falsity as a prerequisite for libel actions by public officials, a standard later extended to libel actions by public figures as well.
In papers filed in federal court in Kentucky, Nicholas Sandmann and his parents alleged that the Post had engaged in ‘‘targeting and bullying’’ and modern ‘‘McCarthyism.’’
‘‘The Post ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J Trump . . . by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters,’’ according to the complaint. In a statement, the Post said it was ‘‘reviewing a copy of the lawsuit’’ and planned ‘‘to mount a vigorous defence’’.
Sandmann’s attorneys also are threatening legal action against The Associated Press and other news organisations.
The Associated Press took great care to ensure its stories were measured and fair, reporting the facts of what transpired and adding details as they emerged, said spokeswoman Lauren Easton, adding that AP stands by its stories.
The actions of Sandmann and his Covington Catholic High School classmates have been intensely debated since video and photographs emerged of them wearing ‘‘Make America Great Again’’ hats and facing off against Omaha Nation elder Nathan Phillips.
Both Sandmann and Phillips say they were trying to defuse tensions that were rising among three groups on a day Washington hosted both the antiabortion March for Life, attended by the Covington students, and the Indigenous Peoples March.
But video of Sandmann and Phillips standing close to each other, with Sandmann staring and at times smiling at Phillips as he sang and played a drum, gave some who watched it a different impression.
Interpretations changed over the days following the incident as witnesses released more video footage. Phillips had approached Sandmann, but well before that, both his group and Sandmann’s were confronted by a third group that appeared to be affiliated with the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. – AP