If there’s anyone who truly understands the way that Kyle Rittenhouse has been defamed by the media, it would be former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann.

Now, Sandmann is speaking out with a clear message of support for Rittenhouse.

From Fox News:

“The parallels between me and Kyle Rittenhouse are impossible not to draw,” Sandmann wrote in a column for the Daily Mail in which he directly reached out to lend support. “The way the media has treated you is terrible, and you don’t have to face it alone.” [….]

“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,” Sandmann continued. “Kyle wasn’t given his day in court by his critics. And neither was I. 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.”

Exactly. They thought these were kids who they could go after and smear, without consequences.

Just like with Rittenhouse, they painted Sandmann as an aggressor and a racist to a Native American man — because he was wearing a MAGA hat. The way he was demonized by the media over the incident was incredibly wrong and toxic. He, too, was just a teenager.

But Sandmann showed that they can be held to account.

CNN had to pay up after Sandmann went after them and others for their lies about him. The exact amount has not yet been disclosed.

Sandmann wrote that the smears by liberals like Joe Biden may have smeared Rittenhouse for life.

“With Kyle’s name dragged through the mud, and the clear effect it is having on him, many have started to ask the question whether Kyle should sue for defamation. While I am by no means an attorney, I have gained some experience on the ins and outs of defamation and can offer an educated guess on what the outcome would be if Kyle were to sue,” Sandmann wrote, explaining how difficult defamation cases are to win.

“Should Kyle sue? It first depends on what happens in the trial, as those elements would come into play were he found guilty. However, if Kyle is innocent it would create an easier road to winning,” Sandmann wrote. “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.”

Sandmann believes that “one of the saddening parts of this media onslaught is that it has taken young people like Kyle and myself to expose how corrupt the media really is,” and, as a result, he couldn’t wait for a verdict before weighing in.

“I cannot hold back on the media’s public execution of him before the trial has concluded,” Sandmann wrote. “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. The way the media has treated you is terrible, and you don’t have to face it alone.”

It’s true, that it’s up to Rittenhouse, because only he can make that determination if he wants to have to deal with it all again. But if he is up to it, as we previously noted, this would be the way to hold them to account.

It’s only by making them pay for this kind of action that you might get them to stop this kind of behavior. Make them pay out of pocket for the lies, so they suffer some consequences for their lies. Otherwise, they will just continue.