Exonerated Central Park Five Sues Trump for Defamation
The Central Park Five is suing former President Donald Trump for defamation. The crux of the lawsuit revolves around Trump’s comments at the Sept. 10 presidential debate about the group’s wrongful convictions for rape…
The Central Park Five is suing former President Donald Trump for defamation.
The crux of the lawsuit revolves around Trump’s comments at the Sept. 10 presidential debate about the group’s wrongful convictions for rape and assault, according to a report in The Hill.
“And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty,” Trump said.
The Central Park Five are Black and Hispanic teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of the 1989 rape and assault of a woman jogging in Central Park.
Their convictions were ultimately overturned in 2002, but not before they spent years in prison.
Only after the person responsible for the crime confessed and was backed up by DNA evidence were the five released.
According to the lawsuit, the five never pleaded guilty and the victim did not die. The lawsuit claims Trump’s comments were said with a “reckless disregard for their falsity” to the 10s of millions of Americans who watched the debate.
“Defendant Trump’s conduct at the September 10 debate was extreme and outrageous, and it was intended to cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiffs,” per the complaint.