Rev. Al Sharpton is refusing to back down after three of Nolan Wells’ friends threatened to sue him for defamation over comments he made about the 18-year-old’s death.

In a statement Tuesday, Sharpton called the allegations “meritless” and said he would “neither be silenced nor retract statements he did not make,” according to NOLA.com and TMZ.

Attorneys for Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour sent Sharpton an Aug. 21 letter threatening legal action over remarks he made about the investigation into Wells’ death. The attorneys allege Sharpton defamed the three men during a July 14 interview with TMZ and in other public appearances, including the National Association of Black Journalists convention and an Aug. 19 prayer vigil for Wells’ 19th birthday.

As Blavity previously reported, Wells went missing on July 4 after spending the holiday on Mississippi’s Horn Island with a group of friends. His body was found two days later. His death remains under investigation, and no criminal charges have been filed against anyone, including the three young men.

Sharpton’s attorneys pushed back against the allegations in a 15-page response, arguing that the civil rights leader never accused the three men of murder or any other crime. Instead, they said, his comments focused on unanswered questions surrounding the investigation.

“Reverend Sharpton did not insert himself into this family’s grief. He was asked,” his attorneys wrote, according to NOLA.com. “He is an ordained Baptist minister, and he stands with (Wells’ parents) Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley in that capacity.”

The attorneys also rejected demands that Sharpton apologize, retract his statements and delete a prayer vigil he held for Wells.

“It asks Reverend Sharpton to apologize to three young men for having asked why an eighteen-year-old died,” they wrote, per NOLA.com. “It asks him to retract questions that Nolan’s own mother raised on national television four days before he repeated them.”

Sharpton’s legal team argued that the defamation claims rely on interpretations of his remarks rather than statements he actually made.

“The accusation on which the threatened claims depend is not contained in Reverend Sharpton’s words,” the response said. “It is supplied by counsel through inference.”

Sharpton has made clear that the legal threat will not stop him from supporting Wells’ family or demanding answers about his death.

“This is not going to distract us from the question that brought us here: What happened to Nolan Wells?” Sharpton said. “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 warned that if the three men move forward with a lawsuit, Sharpton will take legal action of his own, including potentially seeking damages and attorneys’ fees.