Central Park Five sues Donald Trump for ’defamatory’ remarks made during presidential debate

Trump "falsely stated" the plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime, the group said in a federal complaint

Author of the article:

The Associated Press

Terry Tang

Published Oct 21, 2024  •  2 minute read

FILE- In this May 20, 2019 file photo, Director Ava DuVernay, center, with the Central Park 5: Raymond Santana, from left, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, Anthony McCray and Yuesf Salaam, attend the world premiere of "When They See Us," at the Apollo Theater in New York. Photo by Donald Traill /Donald Traill/Invision/AP

The men formerly known as the “Central Park Five” before they were exonerated, filed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

With the election two weeks away, the group accused the former president of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during last month’s presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. The group is asking for a jury trial to determine compensatory and punitive damages.

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“Defendant Trump falsely stated that plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false,” the group wrote in a federal complaint.

Trump campaign officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were teenagers when they were accused of the 1989 rape and beating of a white woman jogger in New York City’s Central Park. The five, who are Black and Latino, said they confessed to the crimes under duress. They later recanted, pleading not guilty in court and were later convicted after jury trials. Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after another person confessed to the crime.

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After the crime, Trump purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times, calling for the teens to be executed. The jogger case was Trump’s first foray into tough-on-crime politics, a prelude to his full-throated populist political persona. Since then, dog whistles and overtly racist rhetoric have been fixtures of Trump’s public life.

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In the Sept. 10 debate, Trump misstated key facts of the case when Harris brought up the matter.

“They admitted, they said they pled guilty and I said, ‘well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately … And they pled guilty, then they pled not guilty,” Trump said.

He appeared to be confusing guilty pleas with confessions. Nor was the victim killed.

The now Exonerated Five, including Salaam who is now a New York City councilman, have been campaigning for Harris. Some of them spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, calling out Trump for not apologizing for the newspaper ad.

They have also joined civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton for a get-out-the-vote bus tour.

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