The lawyer for Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann is launching a primary bid against Republican Representative Thomas Massie in Kentuckyโ€™s 4th congressional district.

The move comes after McMurtry oversaw a settlement on Tuesday between CNN and his client Sandmann, the Kentucky teen who sued multiple media organizations over their coverage of his viral encounter with a Native American man near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. last year.

On January 18, 2019, viral video of Sandmann, then a junior at Covington Catholic High School, showed him standing face to face with Nathan Phillips, a Native American man who was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March. Sandmann and his classmates wore โ€œMake America Great Againโ€ hats and were in Washington for the anti-abortion March for Life.

Initial coverage of the encounter, during which Sandmann stood still and occasionally smiled as Phillips played a drum inches from his face, was used to portray Sandmann as a racist trying to antagonize Phillips. NBC asserted that Sandmann โ€œblockedโ€ Phillips and โ€œdid not allow him to retreatโ€ during their interaction. Longer versions of the video later showed that Phillips approached Sandmann.

Sandmannโ€™s lawyers said the lawsuits were over the โ€œemotional distress Nicholas and his family suffered.โ€ His family had to move out of their home temporarily after the media coverage.

The amount of the settlement with CNN was not made public, but Sandmannโ€™s suit sought a total of $800 million from CNN, the Washington Post and NBC Universal.

Sandmann and McMurtry will now focus on their lawsuits against NBC and the Washington Post and โ€œadditional defendants to be named soon,โ€ McMurtry said on Tuesday.

McMurtryโ€™s Kentucky congressional campaign argues that President Trump cannot count on Massieโ€™s support. Massie, who has represented his district since 2012, has raised more than $121,000 and has $242,000 cash on hand, according to his campaignโ€™s most recent data.