Nick Sandmann from Covington Catholic High School and his family are pursuing a lawsuit against The Washington Post for their recent stories on the viral video of Nick. The family claims that the articles use a “false and defamatory gist” on the situation. Sandmann and spectators say that Nathan Phillips, the Native American activist seen in the video, first approached Sandmann and started harassing and antagonizing him. The Sandmann family is seeking $250 million from The Washington Post. Nick Sandmann first gained attention when a video of him was posted on the internet. Sandmann was seen wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, while mocking and smirking at a Native American activist, Nathan Phillips, near the Lincoln Memorial at a March For Life rally. After this incident, there was a huge debate on who was in the wrong in this situation.

On February 20, 2019, Trump commented on the situation by tweeting, “The Washington Post ignored basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump. Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!” President Trump’s comment has made social media spiral out of control.

The lawsuit has brought up some mixed feelings from teenagers and adults all around the nation, and Adams hosts its own students with varying opinions on this matter.

“I feel like Trump is supporting what Nick is saying without looking at or even mentioning the other side of the situation. This looks bad on his part because of his reputation on Twitter and social media in a whole.”  Paige Urbanski, 16

“I think this situation demonstrates how you have to be respectful when expressing beliefs that others might not share. It is never okay to mock another person, and Nick has to know that there are consequences to poor decision making. If The Post is only writing factual articles about the events that happened, then I am not sure suing them for pointing out Nick’s disrespectful behavior is completely valid, considering he did make fun of Native American culture. All in all, I think the situation is an opportunity to learn a lesson about respect.” Ema Amstutz, 17

“It seems to me that the media has a way of distorting what actually happens. I read multiple sources and they all say the same thing. From the video, it did not look like Nick was harassing Nathan, but sources like The Washington Post, were claiming he did this and that. I don’t think Trump has a basis to get involved in the situation,  despite The Washington Post being notorious for exaggerating certain situations. I think both parties, Nick and the activist, were in the wrong, and it looked like a regular clash between people with contrasting views. I think just because the kid was wearing a MAGA hat, people are quick to assume just because he supports Trump, automatically makes him a bigot or racist.” Amanda Abner, 18

“It annoys me that Sandmann’s family is trying to cover up the racist things that he did with a $250 million lawsuit. Suing is not going to change anything he did, and I feel like it highlights that our country is run by people who feel the same as him.” Mary Cate Baer, 15