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Sandmann Family Hires Famed Libel ‘Lawyer For The Damned’

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Famed libel attorney Lin Wood announced Thursday that he would be representing Nick Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School junior currently at the center of a media firestorm.

Wood, who has earned the moniker “Lawyer for the Damned,” has made a name for himself taking on media on behalf of those who believe they have been unfairly characterized.

Sandmann attended last Friday’s March for Life in Washington D.C. with a group of students from his school, and he was approached by Native American Elder Nathan Phillips as he stood with his classmates on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. A brief viral video of the encounter showed Phillips beating his drum, inches from Sandmann’s face, while the teen stood motionless and smiling. Other students around him chanted and smiled along with the drum beat — and the media quickly painted the boys as racists, taunting and mocking the Native Americans.

Phillips confirmed the prevailing narrative in multiple interviews and blamed the boys. He suggested they owed him an apology and even that they might deserve to be expelled.

Two hours of video obtained and published later showed that the students had been subjected to an hour of verbal harassment from another group prior to what was shown in the originally viral video and indicated that Phillips’ story had quite a few holes in it as well. (RELATED: Nicholas Sandmann Describes ‘Terrible’ Aftermath Of Confrontation With Nathan Phillips)

But as actress Patricia Heaton noted in a series of tweets, the damage may already have been done and that there should be some accountability from the media outlets that perpetuated the story, especially those that did so before all of the facts were in. She suggested that there should be some accountability for what is happening to the boys now that video evidence has made it clear that all is not what it once seemed. (RELATED: Patricia Heaton Takes Media To Task Over Treatment Of Catholic Boys)

That, according to Wood, is where he comes in:

Wood announced on Twitter Thursday night that he would be assisting northern Kentucky attorney Todd McMurtry in “pursuing full legal accountability for the injustices inflicted upon [Nick Sandmann].”

“Todd McMurtry, the family’s legal counsel, conducted an extensive search to find a nationally-recognized attorney skilled in the fields of libel, defamation, and the First Amendment,” a news release sent by the Hemmer DeFrank Wessels law firm said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Wood has previously handled libel and slander lawsuits against media outlets. He represented JonBenét Ramsey’s brother in a $750 million defamation suit against CBS after a TV series suggested he killed JonBenet.

“Mr. Wood brings an unrivaled record of success in the courtroom, having represented such clients as the family of JonBenet Ramsey, former Rep. Gary Condit and Richard Jewell in lawsuits against the media,” McMurtry said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

A statement regarding the case is expected to be issued Friday, according to Wood.

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