The so-called “Central Park Five” on Monday accused former President Donald Trump of making “false and defamatory” statements about them during last month's presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. I filed a complaint.
Yousef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Corey Wise said President Trump, 78, “murdered an individual and pled guilty to criminal acts.” He filed a civil suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that he made “false statements.” crime. “
“These statements are demonstrably false. Plaintiffs have not pleaded guilty to any crime and have since been acquitted of all wrongdoing,” the quintet's lawyers wrote. 18 page filing. “Furthermore, the victims of the Central Park attack were not killed.”
The plaintiffs are seeking $225,000 in damages for defamation, false light and intentional distortion of emotional distress.
Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said the lawsuit was “an attempt by desperate left-wing activists to distract the American people from Kamala Harris' dangerous liberal policies and failed campaign.” “This is yet another frivolous election interference lawsuit filed by these people.”
“Desperate legal efforts by allies of the liar Kamala to interfere in the election are going nowhere, and President Trump is well on his way to a historic victory for the American people on November 5th.” he added.
In 1990, a Manhattan jury found Salaam, Santana, Brown, Richardson, a black and Hispanic man, accused of assaulting and raping Patricia Meili, a white woman jogging in Central Park on the night of April 19, 1989. Wise was found guilty.
Salaam, Santana, Brown and Richardson were also found guilty of assaulting and robbing two other people jogging in the park that same night.
All were forced to confess without a lawyer present before trial.
On May 1, 1989, Trump, a prominent real estate mogul at the time, took out a full-page ad in a New York daily newspaper with the headline, “Bring back the death penalty. Bring back the death penalty.'' Bring back our police! ”
The ads did not mention the Central Park Five by name, but discussed the details of the incident as evidence of the illegal activities prevalent in the Big Apple at the time.
All five convictions were overturned in 2002, when confessions and DNA evidence linked serial rapist Matias Reyes to the Meili assault. However, by then the five-year statute of limitations had passed.
Other assault convictions were also based on forced confessions and were later vacated. Mr. Salaam is currently a member of the New York City Council.
Harris, 60, was asked about the former president's comments during the Sept. 10 debate that the vice president “happens to be black” and used his racial identity for political gain, and asked Central -Brought the Park Five lawsuit.
Harris said of the 45th president's use of the term, “Remember, this is the same person who ran a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the execution of five innocent black and Latino boys, the Central “He's the same person as Park Five.” “The race that divides the American people.”
President Trump responded: “This is the most divisive presidency in the history of our country.” “There's never been anything like that before. They're destroying our country. And they go back years and come up with things like what she just said. Back then. Many people, including the mayor [Michael] Bloomberg agreed with me about the Central Park Five. ”
President Trump inaccurately said, “They pled guilty.” “And I said, 'If they plead guilty, they've seriously injured a person and ultimately killed a person.'
In 2014, the five settled a civil rights lawsuit with the city over wrongful convictions for $40.75 million. in New York Daily News editorialPresident Trump called the settlement “disgraceful.”
“Please talk to detectives about this case and get the facts,” he wrote. “These young people don't have angelic pasts.”
They appeared with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the Democratic National Convention in August and endorsed Ms. Harris.
“Forty-five people wanted us not to be alive. He wanted us dead,” Salam said. “He refused to admit he was wrong and dismissed scientific evidence. He hasn't changed, and he never will.”
