Rev. Al Sharpton Sued for Defamation Over Remarks on Nolan Wells’ Death

Rev. Al Sharpton is refusing to back down after attorneys representing three friends of 18-year-old Nolan Wells threatened him with a defamation lawsuit over comments he made about the teenager’s still-mysterious death.

In fact, Sharpton appears ready for the fight.

“I welcome the lawsuit,” the longtime civil rights activist said after attorneys J. Tyler Cox and Edward Paltzik sent him a 19-page presuit demand letter on behalf of Morgan Seymour, Jax Pitalo and Warren Hudson.

The lawyers accuse Sharpton of repeatedly making statements that they say falsely cast suspicion on the three young men following Wells’ death during a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island, Mississippi.

Sharpton, however, insists he is simply demanding answers.

The controversy intensified following Sharpton’s Aug. 13 appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference, where he openly questioned what happened after Wells went out with the three friends.

“I don’t know what happened. But I got your history of Mississippi,” Sharpton said.

He then pointedly added: “Black boy (who) goes out with three White kids. Three White kids come back. There’s a blurred story on what happened.”

“Some of this don’t make sense given Mississippi’s history,” he said.

Those remarks quickly drew the attention of attorneys for Seymour, Pitalo and Hudson, who argue Sharpton crossed the line from asking questions to publicly implying their clients could have been involved in Wells’ death.

The legal battle also centers on Sharpton’s comments about Wells’ cellphone and keys.

During a July 14 appearance on TMZ, Sharpton questioned why Wells would have left his phone behind and claimed one friend initially denied having the teenager’s phone and keys.

Sharpton also said the phone’s contents had been erased.

“That’s too many unanswered questions for us not to say that something is amiss here,” he said.

But attorneys for the three friends strongly dispute those claims.

They insist Seymour, Pitalo and Hudson had nothing to do with Wells’ death and say none of the three ever possessed, accessed or deleted information from his cellphone.

“Warren, Jax, and Morgan are completely innocent of any wrongdoing with respect to the death of Nolan Wells,” the attorneys wrote.

According to their account, Wells’ phone had been left on one of the boats before eventually ending up in another person’s vehicle.

His keys, meanwhile, had allegedly been left inside Pitalo’s bedroom and were later handed over to Wells’ stepfather.

Still, Sharpton continued raising questions during an Aug. 19 online vigil held on what would have been Wells’ 19th birthday.

“What the friends knew, when they knew it, why they didn’t hand over the cellphone over right away when it was clear he was not back with them, the keys, all of that needs to be litigated,” Sharpton said.

The attorneys contend statements like those falsely suggested their clients hid evidence, interfered with the investigation or played some role in Wells’ death.

They are now demanding that Sharpton apologize, retract the statements and delete the remarks they consider defamatory.

He was given 10 days to comply before the attorneys said they would move toward litigation.

But Sharpton has shown little interest in retreating.

He had already challenged the families to take him to court during his Aug. 13 appearance.

“I want them to sue me first,” Sharpton said. “I want to depose your son. If you sue, the plaintiffs are deposed.”

The attorneys fired back in their demand letter with a message of their own.

“You asked for it, and now you got it,” they wrote.

Sharpton has since said he will have his attorneys contact the lawyers so they can formally serve him and move the dispute into court.

He maintains that his only goal is helping Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore, determine what happened to their son.

“I have been involved in the case for one sole reason: To help Nolan’s parents Christine and Elmore find the truth in what happened to their beloved son through a transparent and accountable investigation,” Sharpton said.

“If a lawsuit is a catalyst for the truth, then it is welcomed.”

Wells died during the Fourth of July excursion to Horn Island off the Mississippi coast.

His cause of death remains undetermined, leaving lingering questions surrounding the final hours of the teenager’s life.

Now, with Sharpton refusing to retract his comments and attorneys threatening court action, the unresolved tragedy could soon explode into a very public legal showdown — one that may force everyone involved to answer questions under oath.