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, identified as “JV” and as a 15-year old high school student, was riding his e-dirt bike past the National Mall on June 20, according to the suit. He was briefly detained and handcuffed over the use of the e-bike, and released without charges, per the suit.
The lawsuit claimed that in a June 21 report on the CBS Evening News, a story “falsely asserted that JV was arrested for engaging in vandalism towards the Reflecting Pool.” The broadcast story did not show his face, but the lawsuit claimed that “it showed video of him from the rear while he was briefly handcuffed, and he was readily identifiable because of his hair and because of the distinctive nature of the logo on the black hoodie that he was wearing (which he routinely wears and is known to wear).”
CBS News also published the story on its website and in social media accounts with some modifications, according to the suit. In that version, anchor Jericka Duncan was talking about the reflecting pool arrests, naming only Olympian David Hearn. The online video showed the image of JV from behind, but his face was visible as he turned around, per the lawsuit.
“JV was readily recognized by friends and acquaintances. In fact, it was a family friend who first notified JV and/or his family about the report,” the lawsuit stated, while claiming that it was viewed 1.8 million times across Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
The lawsuit claimed that JV has “suffered embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, loss of sleep, emotional distress, and continuing fear that CBS’s false accusation will follow him through high school and affect his college admissions, athletic opportunities, employment, and future career.”
On Aug. 21, according to the lawsuit, Duncan issued a retraction and said, “We never should have published this story.”
A CBS News spokesperson declined to comment. The lawsuit was first reported by TheDesk.net.
Meanwhile, the allegations of vandalism to the reflecting pool have fallen apart.
Besides Hearn, no other figures were charged. Hearn’s case was dismissed after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro acknowledged that the damage to the reflecting pool was due to faulty work on the part of the contractor. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that an inspection report concluded that the blue coating applied to the pool failed in at least 85 places.