The five men wrongfully imprisoned as the ‘Central Park Five’ filed a lawsuit Monday against Donald Trump, accusing the former president of defamation. Even though the five men were cleared years ago of the crime for which they were wrongfully jailed, Trump has continued to attack them, including during the presidential debate in September.
Trump accused of defaming the five during September debate
The men now known as the Exonerated 5 — Antron Brown (formerly Antron McCray), Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — filed a civil lawsuit Monday against Trump, claiming that the Republican presidential candidate defamed them during his televised debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10, 2024 in Philadelphia. The lawsuit, filed in Pennsylvania, states that “during the debate, Defendant Trump made several statements concerning the ‘Central Park Five.’” Trump’s remarks falsely recounted the 1989 attack and subsequent convictions of the five and ignored their 2002 exoneration after a separate man confessed to the attack and DNA evidence confirmed that this man committed the assault.
Particularly, the suit recounts an exchange in which Harris reminded the debate audience of Trump’s past attacks against the five men. In response to the attack by Harris during the debate, Trump doubled down on his previous comments; the lawsuit recounts, “Defendant Trump falsely stated that Plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime.” Both of “these statements are demonstrably false,“ the lawsuit notes. “Plaintiffs never pled guilty to any crime and were subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing. Further, the victims of the Central Park assaults were not killed.”
WOW! The Central Park 5 have just sued Trump for his remarks below at the September 10th debate where he stated they had pleaded guilty to a crime.
"Plaintiffs demand judgment against Defendant Donald J. Trump for compensatory damages, for punitive damages and for costs, in an… pic.twitter.com/ENGc05WPZd
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) October 21, 2024
Long history of Trump attacks as Five move on from wrongful conviction
For decades, Trump has launched public attacks against the five men who are now suing him. In May 1989, shortly after the Central Park attack for which the five Black and Latino teenagers were falsely blamed, Trump took out a full-page ad in several New York newspapers calling on authorities to “send a message loud and clear to those who would murder our citizens and terrorize New York—BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY AND BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”
In the decades since their imprisonment and exoneration, the five have repeatedly told their own stories while advocating for others as well. For instance, Yusef Salaam was elected to the New York City Council in 2023, representing a central Harlem district. Salaam even took out his own full-page ad against Trump when the businessman became the first former president to be criminally indicted. Raymond Santana has worked as an activist, including as a member of the New York City Justice League, on issues such as police accountability. Recently, four of the five appeared together at the Democratic National Convention to endorse Harris in her run for president.
Now, that same presidential race has brought Trump back into the path of the five as they continue to fight to clear their names against people like the former president who refuse to accept their innocence. The newly filed lawsuit against Trump is a huge step toward fighting back against their more prominent remaining critic.
