Students of Covington High School in Kentucky have filed a defamation suit against several members of the media who made disparaging remarks about the teens earlier this year.
The suit lists several well-known journalists and television personalities, including CNN analyst Ana Navarro and New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
The Kentucky teens were widely criticized in January when a D.C. field trip to attend the March for Life turned into a face-off with a Native American protester. Early assumptions made by the media that the teens were antagonizing the protester were later disproved as more video of the interaction showed the teens to not be aggressors.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Deb Haaland, comedian Kathy Griffin, and Matthew Dowd of ABC News are also named in the suit.
Hey guys. Seeing all the additional videos now, and I 100% regret reacting too quickly to the Covington story. I wish I’d had the fuller picture before weighing in, and I’m truly sorry.
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) January 21, 2019
“Several of our Senators, most-famous celebrities, and widely read journalists, collectively used their large social media platforms, perceived higher credibility and public followings to lie and libel minors they never met, based on an event they never witnessed,” a statement from the teens’ lawyer said. “These defendants called for the kids to be named and shamed, doxxed and expelled, and invited public retaliation against these minors from a small town in Kentucky.”
“The defendants circulated false statements about them to millions of people around the world,” the statement continued, “The video of the entire event, known to the defendants, exposed all of their factual claims against the kids as lies. The defendants were each individually offered the opportunity to correct, delete, and/or apologize for their false statements, but each refused, continuing to circulate the false statements about these children to this very day on their social media platforms they personally control.”
A defamation suit filed by the students against the New York Times was dismissed last week.
