The Central Park Five, a group of Black and Latino men who were wrongly convicted for the rape of a White female jogger in 1989, have filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Pennsylvania, alleges that Trump made defamatory statements about them during the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
During the debate, Harris criticized Trump for taking out a full-page ad in The New York Times soon after the attacks, calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty in New York. Trump responded by falsely claiming that the Central Park Five had pleaded guilty to the crime and had also killed a person during a series of assaults in Central Park.
The lawsuit argues that Trump’s statements were false and defamatory, as the Central Park Five never pleaded guilty and the victims of the assaults were not killed. The plaintiffs in the case, all members of the Central Park Five, are seeking damages for the harm caused by Trump’s statements.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous and accused Harris’ allies of trying to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. Cheung stated that Trump is “dominating” as he marches towards a historic win for the American people.
The Central Park Five were teenagers at the time of the assaults against Trisha Meili, the White female jogger, and two men. They were arrested and charged with the rape and assault of Meili and other crimes. Despite maintaining their innocence throughout the trial, the five were convicted in 1990.
However, in 2002, the convictions of the Central Park Five were overturned and they were exonerated when DNA evidence linked the crimes to a different man who confessed to the assaults. The group is now known as the “Exonerated Five.”
The lawsuit filed by the Central Park Five alleges that Trump’s statements during the debate were false and insulting. The statements attributed criminal offenses to the plaintiffs that they were never charged with, accused of, or convicted of. The lawsuit aims to hold Trump accountable for spreading misinformation about the Central Park Five.
The lawsuit also details a brief exchange between one of the men, Yusef Salaam, and Trump in the “spin room” after the debate. Salaam introduced himself as one of the Exonerated Five, and the lawsuit claims that Trump’s response to Salaam was dismissive and disrespectful.
The Central Park Five have faced years of public scrutiny and condemnation, despite being proven innocent of the crimes they were accused of. The lawsuit against Trump seeks to set the record straight and hold him accountable for his defamatory statements.
In a statement, the plaintiffs emphasized the importance of seeking justice and holding powerful individuals like Trump accountable for spreading false information. They hope that the lawsuit will bring attention to the injustices they have faced and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Overall, the lawsuit filed by the Central Park Five against Donald Trump highlights the importance of standing up against defamation and holding individuals accountable for spreading false information. It also sheds light on the systemic issues of racial bias and wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system.
