CBS News Sued for $20 Million Over Report Linking Teen to Reflecting Pool Vandalism
The lawsuit says CBS aired footage and narration that wrongly suggested the 15-year-old was among five people arrested, and it seeks more than $20 million.
- A 15-year-old Maryland student filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against CBS News on Wednesday, claiming the network falsely identified him as a suspect in vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
- The dispute stems from a June 21 CBS Evening News report that aired footage of the teenager being detained by police, though his June 20 detention involved an electric bike and was unrelated to the vandalism investigation.
- According to the complaint, social media versions of the broadcast amassed at least 1.8 million views across Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, causing the teenager emotional distress after classmates and hockey teammates recognized him from the footage.
- CBS issued a retraction on August 21, stating, "We never should have published this story," though the teenager's attorneys argue the correction failed to adequately remedy the reputational harm.
- Separately, federal prosecutors dropped charges against all others arrested, including Olympian David Hearn, after an inspection revealed the Reflecting Pool damage resulted from faulty contractor work rather than criminal vandalism.
7 Articles
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CBS News Slapped With $20 Million Defamation Lawsuit
"Before CBS's publication, JV was an excellent student and high-school ice hockey player with a sterling reputation," the family claimed. The post CBS News Slapped With $20 Million Defamation Lawsuit Over Reflecting Pool Report With Footage of Teen in Handcuffs first appeared on Mediaite.
Teenager Sues CBS News Over Story On Reflecting Pool Vandalism Arrests
A Maryland teenager filed defamation suit against CBS News over a report his attorneys say falsely linked him as one of those arrested for alleged vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool last summer. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, seeks at least $20 million in damages. The plaintiff, […]
Teen files $20 million lawsuit against CBS News over vandalism story
The CBS Building in New York City. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons, Graphic by The Desk) A teenager in Maryland has filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against CBS after the network’s evening news broadcast portrayed him as a suspect in the vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool earlier this year. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names CBS Broadcasting and CBS Interactive as defenda…
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