Teen, Trump, and a Drum: The High‑School Hustle That Got the Press in Courtship
When a 16‑year‑old from Covington, Kentucky feels over‑caged by a newspaper, he decides to pull out the big guns—court papers and a splashy lawsuit. Nicholas Sandmann is suing the Washington Post for defamation, demanding a staggering $250 million (yes, that’s about the same figure Jeff Bezos sank into the Post in 2013). The claim? The Post portrayed him as a racist in a January clip that flopped around the Lincoln Memorial.
Why the Paper’s Picked a Target
- Sandmann, a white Catholic, was wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap at a school trip to the March for Life rally.
- The lawsuit says the Post targeted him “to advance its bias against President Trump.”
- In the viral footage, Sandmann cozied up with Nathan Phillips, a Native‑American activist who’s more of a drum‑and‑song advocate than a provocateur.
The Investigators’ Take
Contrary to the media frenzy, a private investigation hired by the Covington Diocese found no evidence that the teens instigated the confrontation. Instead, the report says:
- Members of the Black Hebrew Israelites were the ones tossing heckles at the spot.
- Students didn’t charge any insults toward Phillips, though a few performed a “tomahawk chop” to the beat of the drum.
- No proof of a chant “build that wall,” even though Phillips claimed he heard it.
Legal Hawinks
Sandmann’s lawyer, Lin Wood (yes, the same name that rings a bell for watching TV dramas), hinted at a string of lawsuits on the horizon. “We’re not stopping here,” she told reporters.
Kristine Coratti Kelly, VP of Communications for the Post, said the paper is reviewing the complaint “and plans to mount a vigorous defense.” That’s the classic “we’ll fight back” approach, straight from the newsroom playbook.
What’s the Bottom Line?
At its core, this saga is a clash of civic pride, social media mania, and the legal system’s slow dance. If you’ve ever wondered whether a high‑schooler can make a news organization pay, this is the headline. Whether the scales ever tip has a long way to go, but the story already makes for a laugh‑and‑squint‑moment headline with footnotes of drama, evidence, and a drummer on the side.
