Former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann, who settled several lawsuits against news outlets in 2020 over a famous confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial a year prior, said Kyle Rittenhouse should do the same to "hold the media accountable."
"The parallels between me and Kyle Rittenhouse are impossible not to draw," Sandmann wrote in a column for the Daily Mail. "The way the media has treated you is terrible, and you don't have to face it alone."
Rittenhouse, 17 at the time of the incident, is currently on trial for five charges related to the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, as well as the injury of Gaige Grosskreutz, 27. Judge Bruce Schroeder has already dismissed two charges related to curfew violation and possession of a dangerous weapon under 18.
"Kyle was almost immediately labeled a 'white supremacist' and a 'domestic terrorist.' To many, my red MAGA hat clearly meant that I was a racist," Sandmann wrote.
CNN settled a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit with Sandmann in January 2020 following the network's botched coverage of a viral confrontation with a Native American elder in 2019 that portrayed the Kentucky teen as a racist aggressor, according to The Hill.
Sandmann settled a similar lawsuit with The Washington Post in July of last year. The official amount of the settlement has not been disclosed publicly, the outlet reported.
The Covington teen believes Rittenhouse went through similar agony when the media rushed to judgment on his case.
"This is the problem with liberal media outlets in the United States. They want to get the story first, get the most views, make the most money, and advance the agenda from liberal patrons," the teen wrote.
A guest on MSNBC compared him to a "school shooter," while another said he is "arguably a domestic terrorist."
Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., used the "white supremacist" term when talking about Rittenhouse during an appearance on CNN in March, per the Daily Mail.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.