The family of the Covington Catholic student at the center of a Washington, D.C. encounter that dominated national news for the past several days, hired a high-profile attorney with a record of representing clients in cases against the media.

L. Lin Wood, of Atlanta, was hired by the family of Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann. Wood has previously represented the family of JonBenet Ramsey (a child pageant participant who was murdered in the 1990s), former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, and Richard Jewell, a security guard who was falsely accused in the bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Local attorney Todd McMurtry will serve the family as co-counsel.

Wood visited with the Sandmann family on Thursday in Northern Kentucky. "He is committed to bringing justice to 16-year old Nick Sandmann and his family," a news release said.

Sandmann and other students at Covington Catholic were seen in a short video that swiftly went viral on social media, purporting to show them surrounding and harassing a Native American drummer on the National Mall. The students were in D.C. last Friday for the March of Life, which happened at the same time as the Indigenous Peoples March.

Sandmann was seen in the video standing still and face to face with Nathan Phillips, a Native elder. Many of the students were wearing apparel that featured President Donald J. Trump's campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, or other references to his campaign, adding to the political fury.

Later, longer videos emerged changing the context of the encounter that showed a small group of Black Hebrew Israelites throwing racist and homophobic epithets at the Cov Cath students, who responded by performing their school chants, typically seen at sporting events. Phillips approached the students while the chants were in progress leading to questions about whether the students were looking to mock Phillips, or whether they were continuing their original purpose as Phillips drummed.

Phillips claimed that he was seeking to calm the situation unfolding between the Black Hebrew Israelites and the students.

The videos set off a national social media firestorm. Even Trump came to the defense of the students.

Covington Catholic High School closed its Park Hills campus on Tuesday over security concerns. Students returned on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, the Diocese of Covington, which issued a statement condemning the students' behavior and hired a third party to investigate the situation, saw its offices evacuated following the arrival of packages that were deemed suspicious.

Meanwhile, a Friday evening boys basketball game between Covington Catholic and Holmes was canceled.

"With passions running high relating to the incident in Washington, D.C. this past weekend, officials from both schools agreed that it would be best to postpone the game," a news release from Covington Independent Public Schools said.

That game is expected to be rescheduled, the release said.

-Michael Monks, editor & publisher

Photo: L. Lin Wood (via Wiki Commons)