>>This is the precursor for what will happen with the Covington boys.
Actually, if I understand the US libel laws correctly, the Covington boys are going to come out much, MUCH better than Mrs. Trump.
That's because FLOTUS is a "public figure." This means that if somebody (a media outlet, a twatter user, etc.) says something false about her, she could only sue successfully IF she could prove "malicious intent."
In contrast, the Covington boys were NOT celebrities. They were ordinary folk, about whom false statements were made by media outlets, twatter users, etc. In their case, it is NOT necessary to prove "malicious intent." The mere fact that you publicly made false statements about them is sufficient to constitute libel–and they can sue the fucking hell out of you. Which they are planning to do.
Their lawyer Barnes explained this a couple days ago on Fox, and said everyone who's libelled the boys had 48 hrs to apologize publicly, or else. I noticed that Jake Tapper was one of those who came out and apologized. The 48 hrs expired on Friday.
(This incidentally makes me wonder: what kind of evidence did Mrs. Trump's attorneys manage to find, regarding the motivations of the false reporting byb the Telegraph?)
If there are any US lawfags here, perhaps you could comment? I'm a lawyer in another country, so perhaps I've worded some of this a bit inaccurately, dunno