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Nicholas Sandmann supports Kyle Rittenhouse, urges him to sue media: 'Here for you'

Nicholas Sandmann urged Kyle Rittenhouse to 'hold the media accountable' but warned him that defamation lawsuits are hard to win

Nicholas Sandmann, a MAGA supporter, who was catapulted into being the object of national shame at 16 years of age, has come out in support of Rittenhouse. Sandmann also faced intense media scrutin after a photo of him seemingly mocking a Native American activist went viral in January 2019. The former Covington Catholic High School student — who won a defamation suit against CNN —has urged Kyle Rittenhouse to hold the media accountable for how they portrayed him. 

Sandmann has penned an op-ed on Daily Mail, where he compared his past situation with what Rittenhouse is being subjected to at the moment. "The parallels between me and Kyle Rittenhouse are impossible not to draw. Kyle was 17-years-old when he became a household name after that terrible tragedy in Kenosha. I was 16-years-old when I was catapulted into the national conversation by video of an encounter with a Native American activist on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 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," he wrote. 

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For people who are unaware, Sandmann was taking part in the anti-abortion 'March for Life' in Washington DC when he seemingly smirked at Native American activist Nathan Phillips, who also also at the venue for the 'Indigenous Peoples March' near the Lincoln Memorial, during a confrontational moment. A video of the interaction circulated on social media and created headlines across the nation.

Rittenhouse, 18, on the other hand, stands accused of killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and injuring a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, when there was a peaceful BLM protest against the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

'Kyle was an easy target'

"From my own experience, the death threats, feeling of no future ahead, and that millions of people hate you, is enough to alter you in many concrete ways and permanently. Make no mistake: even the strongest of people cannot resist the mental impact when the media war machine targets you," Sandmann added in the op-ed. 

He then talked about how Kyle was being targeted by the liberal media just like he was years ago. “The attacks on Kyle came from the national news media, just as they came for me. They came quickly, without hesitation, because Kyle was an easy target that they could paint in the way they wanted to. 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,” Sandmann stated. “These outlets cover themselves when they are wrong with small footnotes at the ends of long articles, clarifying that new information has come out and that they have updated their coverage.”

After arguing that “News shouldn’t be a scoreboard that constantly changes,” Sandmann said that “every single label on Kyle as a ‘terrorist,’ ‘white supremacist,’ and ‘school shooter’ in the streets of Kenosha, will only ever be withdrawn after the damage has been done.”

'Hold the media accountable'

He made it clear that he was standing by Rittenhouse in his hour of need. “At this time I would like to use my platform to let Kyle know that I am here for you and if you ever would like to reach out to me, I am about the only person our age to have an idea of how the media is treating you,” Sandmann wrote. “The way the media has treated you is terrible, and you don’t have to face it alone.”

He also urged him to take on the media who defamed him but warned him that such lawsuits will be hard to win. “I personally am still involved in six media lawsuits as January approaches marking three years since the confrontation took place at the March for Life,” Sandmann stated. “So, if Kyle is prepared to take on another burden in his early life, with the acceptance that it might result in nothing, I answer, give it a shot and hold the media accountable.”

'King defending a king'

The op-ed drew a lot of mixed reactions on Twitter. A few people criticized Sandmann — for instance one taunting tweet said: "Is he gonna donate some money from mommy's trust fund to the crybaby wannabe?"

But most others praised him for reaching out to Rittenhouse. "Ah the kid who was labeled a racist by the media, and then subsequently won millions is now standing up for others who the media has wrongly villified? Doesn't matter tho cus theyre.. *white*" one of them noted, while another said, "One beautiful soul reaching out to an other. May they find and help each other." A third commented, "Great to see heroes support each other!" The next remarked, "Very well written piece. My heart breaks for our youth. All of them. All sides of the political spectrum. None of them are being well served by the media or the government."

One more quipped, "King defending a king." Another said, "Two great kids Classy move by Nic, hopefully they get a chance to be friends." A commenter tweeted, "Sandman should refer his excellent legal team to Kyle for when Kyle is acquitted." A person reacted with, "What have we become as a nation when a 19 year old needs to scold us about our actions."