One Year Later, Sandmann Returns to DC: 'I Will Never Pass on an Opportunity To March for Life'
Nick Sandmann, the Covington High School student who was maligned in a viral social media firestorm last year after the March for Life, wants the world to know that a year later, he is still not backing down.
Sandmann and other students from Covington became part of a national controversy over an encounter with Native American activist Nathan Phillips.
Sandmann stood and smiled while Phillips loudly banged a drum in his face during the incident near the Lincoln Memorial. Based upon initial social media video, liberal activists and the media portrayed Sandmann as the villain of the confrontation, although later video of the encounter showed that Sandmann and his fellow Covington students did nothing inappropriate in the encounter.
Sandmann, now 17, tweeted his thoughts both on Friday, the day of the march, and in the days leading up to it while he was in Washington.
“I will never pass on an opportunity to March for Life,” Sandmann wrote on Twitter.
I will never pass on an opportunity to March for Life! pic.twitter.com/iU0ohmdcTJ
— Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) January 24, 2020
Earlier in the week, he tweeted his thoughts on the one-year anniversary of the controversy.
“Exactly one year ago today, Nathan Phillips approached after the March For Life in Washington, D.C. Today I stood in the exact same spot I had year ago and did my first fair interview compared to the setup @ NBC. I won’t ever be bullied or surrender. Thanks for all your support,” he tweeted.
Exactly one year ago today, Nathan Phillips approached after the March For Life in Washington, D.C.
Today I stood in the exact same spot I had year ago and did my first fair interview compared to the setup @ NBC.
I won’t ever be bullied or surrender. Thanks for all your support
— Nicholas Sandmann (@N1ckSandmann) January 18, 2020
Others also weighed in on twitter.
Still no apology from the MSM or Nathan Phillips for trying to destroy the life of this young man & for trying to disrupt Catholic Mass, despite CNN’s payout for losing the legal battle.
It would be epic if Nick Sandmann and Covington Catholic led the March for Life this year! https://t.co/IF9Tf0wT23
— Fr. Leo Patalinghug (@FatherLeoFeeds) January 22, 2020
Out of adversity comes strength, good for you. We look forward to seeing wonderful achievements from you as an adult.
— Debora Levy (@apromptdeb) January 18, 2020
Attorney Todd McMurtry, who represents the Sandmann family, spoke for them and shared their thoughts, according to WLWT.
“They’ve overcome this tremendous obstacle. And they’ve stuck together as a family and they continue to stand, they continue and intend to stand up for what’s right,” he said.
Although the incident that catapulted Sandmann into the public eye is a year in the past, the family knows it is not forgotten.
“[E]ven today I think that the family has to employ security at certain circumstances to protect them because they have, you know, real concerns about how they might be treated out in public,” McMurtry said.
After the 2019 confrontation, Sandmann sued a number of media outlets for misrepresenting the encounter.
One lawsuit against CNN was settled earlier this month, Fox News reported. Other suits are pending, McMurtry said.
“The problem is that these media outlets have forever defined who Nick Sandmann is,” he said. “And, there is not much that he can do in response to that. No matter where he goes or with whom he speaks, they’re going to go back and half the people are going to think he is a terrible racist in a Make America Great Again hat.”
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