Judge dismisses suit against Washington Post filed by teen in viral stare-down with Native American

A federal judge has thrown out a Kentucky teen’s lawsuit against the Washington Post for its coverage of his viral encounter with an American Indian activist, reports ABC News.

The teen, Nicholas Sandmann, gained public notoriety after a video emerged that showed Sandmann wearing a MAGA hat while smiling and staring down Nathan Phillips, an activist who was beating a drum and singing. The encounter occurred on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in January.

Phillips claimed that the group of high schoolers yelled derogatory comments at him before the stare down took place.

Sandmann disputed that claim in a statement saying he believed, “that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation.”

In the wake of the incident and coverage by the Washington Post, Sandmann’s parents filed a complaint that the Post “ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.”

The lawsuit sought $250 million in damages. Sandmann said he received death threats in the aftermath of news stories that reported the encounter.

On Friday, the federal judge overseeing the case granted the Post’s request to dismiss the case.

The judge did accept Sandmann’s statement that his intent was to calm the situation by remaining motionless and not block anyone.

“However, Phillips did not see it that way,” the judge wrote in a statement. “He [Phillips] passed these conclusions on to The Post. They may have been erroneous, but, as discussed above, they are opinion protected by the First Amendment.”