Nick Sandmann’s Lawyers Preparing Libel Suit Against Media Figures at CNN, MSNBC, NPR and Others

Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann‘s lawyers are preparing for a massive libel suit against major media personalities and organizations, Fox News reports.

Sandmann’s lawyer released a 15-minute video showing the events that led to the 15-year-old’s defamation in the media. He also sent preservation letters to over 50 high profile members of the media, Hollywood, news outlets, and even religious authorities, demanding the preservation of all electronic communication related to the incident between the Covington Catholic school boys and their reported perpetrators. Fox News’ Doug McKelway reports:

The list of recipients is broad. From the news world, it includes CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, HBO NPR and TMZ. It includes such prominent reporters as Anna Cabrera, Aaron Burnett, S.E. Cupp, Maggie Haberman, David Brooks, Andrea Mitchell, Savannah Guthrie, Joy Reid, Chuck Todd, and many more. From the world of film and Hollywood, Bill Marr, Kathy Griffin, Alyssa Milano and Jim Carrey. It also includes the dioceses of Covington, Lexington, Louisville and Baltimore.

McKelway added there may be more to the lawsuit than just the preservation letters: one attorney sent a statement to Fox News addressing the severity of impact the media’s libel had on the school kids’ emotional health, daily functionality, and potentially also future career prospects. They intend to take the perpetrators of the incident in question, Nation Phillips and the black Israelites, to court for assault, cyberbullying, and slander, among other things.

“I asked Judge Andrew Napolitano how these types of cases fare in court and his response was, basically, not well,” McKelway told Fox News’ Sandra Smith. “Quote, ‘Defamation is the impairment of one’s reputation. A child has no reputation to impair.’ But attorneys for Sandmann say in the digital world, prospects for college acceptance and future jobs could all be permanently harmed by the misreporting of what happened that day.”

McKelway added the “bad news” for those charged in this lawsuit is that the case will be heard in Covington, Kentucky, a very Catholic community with a lot of support for the boys, and could even end up in the indictment.