Central Park 5 sue Trump for jogger case remarks at debate

The men formerly known arsenic the Central Park Five earlier they were exonerated filed a defamation suit Monday against Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump.

With Election Day 2 weeks away, the radical accused the erstwhile president of making “false and defamatory statements” astir them during past month's statesmanlike statement with Vice President Kamala Harris. The radical is asking for a assemblage proceedings to find compensatory and punitive damages.

“Defendant Trump falsely stated that plaintiffs killed an idiosyncratic and pled blameworthy to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false,” the radical wrote successful the national complaint.

The men are upset due to the fact that Trump fundamentally “defamed them successful beforehand of 67 cardinal people, which has caused them to question to wide their names each implicit again,” co-lead counsel Shanin Specter told The Associated Press successful an email.

Specter had nary remark erstwhile asked if determination were concerns immoderate spot the suit arsenic purely governmental due to the fact that of the group's enactment for Harris. “We are seeking redress successful the courts,” Specter said.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung decried the suit arsenic “just different frivolous, predetermination interference lawsuit, filed by hopeless left-wing activists, successful an effort to distract the American radical from Kamala Harris’s dangerously wide docket and failing campaign.”

Trump run officials did not instantly respond to emails seeking comment.

Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were teenagers erstwhile they were accused of the 1989 rape and beating of a achromatic pistillate jogger successful New York City's Central Park. The five, who are Black and Latino, said they confessed to the crimes nether duress. They aboriginal recanted, pleading not blameworthy successful court, and were aboriginal convicted aft assemblage trials. Their convictions were vacated successful 2002 aft different idiosyncratic confessed to the crime.

After the crime, Trump purchased a full-page advertisement successful The New York Times calling for the reinstatement of the decease penalty. At the time, galore successful New York believed Trump’s advertisement was akin to calling for the teens to beryllium executed. The jogger lawsuit was Trump’s archetypal foray into tough-on-crime authorities that preluded his full-throated populist governmental persona. Since then, canine whistles and overtly racist rhetoric person been fixtures of Trump’s nationalist life.

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

“They admitted, they said they pled guilty, and I said, ’well, if they pled guilty, they severely wounded a person, killed a idiosyncratic yet ... And they pled guilty, past they pled not guilty,” Trump said.

He appeared to beryllium confusing blameworthy pleas with confessions. Also, nary unfortunate died.

The present Exonerated Five, including Salaam, who is present a New York City councilman, person been campaigning for Harris. Some of them spoke astatine the Democratic National Convention successful August, calling retired Trump for ne'er apologizing for the paper ad.

They person besides joined civilian rights person the Rev. Al Sharpton for a get-out-the-vote autobus tour.

Prior defamation suits involving Trump person led to sizable amounts awarded to the plaintiffs. In January, a assemblage awarded $83.3 cardinal to proposal columnist E. Jean Carroll implicit Trump's continued societal media attacks against her claims helium sexually assaulted her successful a Manhattan section store successful 1996. In May 2023, a assemblage recovered Trump liable for sexually abusing her and issued a $5 cardinal judgement.