The men known as the "Central Park Five" have filed a defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, accusing him of spreading "false, misleading, and defamatory" statements during the September 10 ABC News presidential debate. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Monday, claims that Trump's remarks about the 1989 case caused the plaintiffs "severe emotional distress and reputational damage."
The lawsuit, brought by Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Korey Wise, centers around comments made by Trump in response to Vice President Kamala Harris's reference to his 1989 full-page ad in The New York Times, in which he called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. During the debate, Trump claimed that the men "admitted" and "pled guilty" to the crime, further asserting that they had ultimately "killed a person."
The plaintiffs argue that Trump's statements are categorically false. None of the five men ever pleaded guilty in connection with the crime, and none of the victims of the Central Park assaults died. The lawsuit also points out that at the time of the 1989 attacks, the mayor of New York City was Ed Koch, not Michael Bloomberg as Trump implied during the debate. The plaintiffs maintain that Trump's statements were intended to inflict emotional distress and damage their reputations.
"Defendant Trump's conduct at the September 10 debate was extreme and outrageous, and it was intended to cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiffs," the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, though the specific amount has not been disclosed.
The Central Park Five-now also referred to as the "Exonerated Five"-were wrongly convicted of the brutal rape of a female jogger in Central Park in 1989. The five teenagers, aged between 14 and 16 at the time, maintained their innocence but were convicted and served years in prison. In 2002, a decade after their convictions, another man, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime, and DNA evidence confirmed his involvement. Following Reyes' confession, the convictions of the Central Park Five were vacated, and the men were ultimately awarded a $41 million settlement by New York City in 2014 for their wrongful convictions.
In the court filing, the plaintiffs' attorneys, Shanin Specter and Alexander Van Dyke, emphasized the harm caused by Trump's comments, stating, "The truth is that none of the Central Park Five pled guilty, nor was anyone killed during the assault." The attorneys further noted that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had acknowledged that the teenagers' confessions were unreliable and conflicted with the evidence, leading to the exoneration of the five men.
According to the lawsuit, one of the plaintiffs, Yusef Salaam, was present at the debate and attempted to confront Trump afterward in the spin room. Salaam reportedly called out to Trump multiple times, asking, "Will you apologize to the Exonerated Five?" and "Sir, what do you say to a member of the Central Park Five, sir?" Trump's response to Salaam was dismissive, reportedly saying, "Ah, you're on my side then," to which Salaam replied, "No, no, no, I'm not on your side."
The lawsuit describes Salaam's attempts to engage with Trump as "polite dialogue" aimed at correcting the false and defamatory statements made during the debate. "Plaintiff Salaam was attempting to politely dialogue with Defendant Trump about the false and defamatory statements that Defendant Trump had made about Plaintiffs less than an hour earlier, but Defendant Trump refused to engage with him in dialogue," the lawsuit stated.
In a statement following the filing, a Trump campaign spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as a "frivolous, election interference" effort by "desperate left-wing activists." Trump's attorneys have yet to file a response in court, and it remains to be seen how they will address the allegations.
The defamation lawsuit marks another chapter in the decades-long dispute between Trump and the Central Park Five. In 1989, just days after the attack, Trump paid for a full-page advertisement in four New York City newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty. Though the ad did not explicitly name the Central Park Five, its message was clear, and Trump has refused to apologize for his stance even after the five men were exonerated.
Salaam, who was elected to the New York City Council last year, has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump. "We deserve an apology," Salaam has said in multiple interviews. "Donald Trump used his platform to fan the flames of hate and division, and even now, after the truth is known, he refuses to take responsibility."
The lawsuit against Trump comes as the former president continues to be a prominent figure in the political arena, running for re-election. The Central Park Five hope that the lawsuit will not only correct the record but also serve as a reminder of the dangers of misinformation, especially from those in positions of power. "We seek to clear our names once again," Specter said in a statement. "The Plaintiffs deserve justice for the harm caused by Donald Trump's false and defamatory remarks."
