Judge tosses Kentucky student’s lawsuits over DC encounter

By DYLAN LOVAN
Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against five media companies brought by a Kentucky student. Nicholas Sandmann was a 16-year-old high school student when was involved in a 2019 viral encounter at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The lawsuits sought tens of millions of dollars in damages. Sandmann argued that the Native American man, Nathan Phillips, had defamed him in media reports. A federal judge ruled that statements made by Phillips were “objectively unverifiable.” The lawsuits thrown out Tuesday by the judge were against The New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, Gannett and Rolling Stone magazine.