Judge dismisses presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren from Covington Catholic libel suit

Matthew Glowicki | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Original Covington Catholic, activist confrontation in DC This video clip went viral, throwing Covington Catholic into the national spotlight. Longer video has since emerged showing how the incident started.

A federal judge has dismissed presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren from a libel suit filed by 10 Covington Catholic High School students.

The students, identified only as the "Covington Boys" in court records, filed suit in August alleging they were defamed by a dozen public figures in the aftermath of their encounter with Native Americans on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, 2019.

That encounter, which was captured on video, went viral and garnered strong rebukes of some of the Kentucky students' behavior toward the Native Americans, including Nathan Phillips.

A day after the incident, Warren tweeted that Phillips "endured hateful taunts with dignity and strength, then urged us all to do better."

Earlier: Libel suit filed against Kathy Griffin, Elizabeth Warren and others who tweeted about Covington Catholic incident

The students sued the Massachusetts congresswoman and 11 other public figures who criticized the students, including New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, actress Kathy Griffin, activist Shaun King and U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland.

U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman ruled Tuesday that Warren acted within the scope of her employment when she tweeted and is therefore protected by sovereign immunity.

"The Court concludes that the challenged statements by defendants Warren and Haaland — whether one agrees with them or finds them objectionable — are communications intended to convey the politicians’ views on matters of public interest to their constituents," Bertelsman wrote.

The judge also dismissed Haaland, of New Mexico, from the suit. Haaland had tweeted that Phillips was "harassed and mocked by a group of MAGA hat-wearing teens."

Attorneys for the students claimed the boys became the target of "a social media lynch mob" that spread misinformation and led to the boys receiving death threats and hate mail.

Also: What video from Covington Catholic incident tell us about what happened

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They argued that as more video of the encounter came out, a fuller picture of the incident emerged, undercutting earlier claims about the teens.

In his Tuesday order, Bertelsman declined to dismiss the remaining defendants and sent the case back to Kenton Circuit Court.

Other defendants named in the suit are:

Reza Aslan, a scholar and author;

Matthew Dowd, a political consultant and analyst;

Adam Edelen, a former state auditor of Kentucky;

Jodi Jacobson, the editor in chief of Rewire News;

Clara Jeffery, the editor in chief of Mother Jones;

Kevin Kruse, a history professor at Princeton;

Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and frequent CNN guest.

The suit seeks between $15,000 and $50,000 for each Covington student.

Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Max Londberg contributed to this report. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mattg.