Table of Contents
Central Park Five Members Suing Trump For His Debate
Individuals from the group known as the “Central Park Five” filed a lawsuit against ex-President Donald Trump for allegedly making untrue and damaging remarks about their 1989 case in a recent debate.
The five men allege in a federal lawsuit that Trump was aware he was acting with “reckless disregard” for the truth when he stated during the September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that they had pled guilty to crimes related to beating and raping a woman in New York City, and that the five teenagers “badly hurt a person, killed a person” during the assault.
Attorney’s Remarks
“Defendant Trump’s statements were false and defamatory in numerous respects,” lawyers representing the individuals, who are all currently in their 50s, stated in the legal complaint filed in a federal court located in Philadelphia. “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.”
“None of the victims of the Central Park assaults were killed,” the attorneys representing Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Korey Wise penned.
CNN has contacted officials from the Trump administration for a statement.
The males are looking for compensation and punitive damages. The lawsuit also states that Trump’s remarks depicted them in an untrue manner and led to them experiencing “significant emotional anguish.”
The group was coerced into making fake admissions in the matter. In 2002, their innocence was proven after DNA evidence connected someone else to the crime. The city was sued by the teenagers, and the lawsuit was resolved in 2014.
Trump has always been vocal about the situation, which caused a stir in New York in the late 1980s while he was a prominent figure in the city’s real estate and celebrity circles. Previously, Trump placed ads in multiple New York City newspapers with the message ““BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” displayed in all capital letters.
His remarks from the previous month were made after Harris mentioned the ad during a segment of the debate focusing on race and politics in the US.
Harris Statement
“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.”
One of the ads that Trump bought was submitted as evidence in the lawsuit.
During his three runs for the White House, the ex-president has tried to show a strong stance against crime and has shown his readiness to bring up racially and politically charged criminal cases in US history during debates.
In recent years, as he transitioned into politics, Trump has remained critical of the situation. In October 2016, Trump, who was a candidate at the time, defended his actions in the case by stating to CNN, “They admitted they were guilty.”
In 2014, Trump expressed in an article in the New York Daily News that New York City’s $41 million agreement with the five men was “a disgrace.”
Our Recent Post: PAUL DI’ANNO Passed Away At 66
