Former President Donald Trump has been hit with a significant defamation lawsuit by the members of the Central Park Five. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court in Philadelphia, alleges that Trump made “grossly false and defamatory” statements about their infamous 1989 case during a presidential debate last month.
The five men—Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—claim that Trump acted with “reckless disregard” for the truth when he asserted during the September debate that they had pleaded guilty to crimes related to the assault and rape of a woman in New York City. Trump’s remarks included allegations that the teenagers “badly hurt a person, killed a person,” which the lawsuit categorically disputes.
“Defendant Trump’s statements were false and defamatory in numerous respects,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote. They emphasized that “Plaintiffs never pled guilty to the Central Park assaults. Plaintiffs all pled not guilty and maintained their innocence throughout their trial and incarceration, as well as after they were released from prison.”
Importantly, none of the victims in the Central Park case were killed, as claimed by Trump.
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The lawsuit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages, arguing that Trump’s comments have placed the plaintiffs in a false light and caused them severe emotional distress. The men were wrongfully convicted based on coerced confessions and were exonerated in 2002 when DNA evidence identified another individual as the perpetrator. A subsequent lawsuit against New York City was settled for $41 million in 2014.
Trump has a long history of involvement with the Central Park case, having taken out full-page ads in major New York newspapers in 1989 that read in all-caps, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” The ads specifically targeted the five teenagers.
His recent comments in the debate were made in response to Vice President Kamala Harris, who highlighted his past actions.
“Let’s remember, this is the same individual who took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the execution of five young Black and Latino boys who were innocent, the Central Park Five,” Harris said. “Took out a full-page ad calling for their execution.”
The former president has repeatedly criticized the Central Park Five case over the years, even doubling down on his controversial statements during his political campaigns. In a 2016 interview with CNN, he maintained that the defendants had admitted their guilt, and in a 2014 op-ed, he labeled the city’s settlement as “a disgrace.”
Representatives for Trump have yet to respond to requests for comment.
