*Rev. Al Sharpton says he has no plans to retreat from questions he raised about the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, even as three of Wells’ friends move toward a potential defamation lawsuit against him, TMZ reports.
Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour have threatened legal action over comments Sharpton made while publicly questioning aspects of the investigation into Wells’ death. Their attorneys, Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik, sent Sharpton a letter Aug. 21 announcing their intent to sue and demanding that he retract and remove statements they consider defamatory.
The dispute centers on a July 14 interview with TMZ, during which Sharpton unpacked details surrounding the investigation. He raised questions about Wells’ cellphone and keys and asked whether investigators had questioned the three men under oath.
The attorneys representing Hudson, Pitalo and Seymour argue that Sharpton’s comments connected their clients to allegations involving murder, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. Sharpton’s legal team strongly disputes that characterization.
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“This is not going to distract us from the question that brought us here: ‘What happened to Nolan Wells?’ His parents buried their 18-year-old son without knowing how or why he died. They asked me to stand with them, and I will continue to stand with them until they get the answers they deserve.”
His attorneys also argued that Sharpton was not independently inserting himself into the case, but responding to questions Wells’ mother had already raised publicly.
“It asks Reverend Sharpton to apologize to three young men for having asked why an eighteen-year-old died. It asks him to retract questions that Nolan’s own mother raised on national television four days before he repeated them. It asks him to delete a prayer vigil.”
Sharpton’s attorneys described the threatened lawsuit as “meritless” and argued that the demand for a retraction does not identify an actual defamatory statement. They also said Sharpton would pursue damages and attorneys’ fees if litigation moves forward.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Nolan Wells’ Friends Threaten Defamation Lawsuit Against Rev. Al Sharpton
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