Trump faces defamation lawsuit from Central Park Five ahead of election
By Dr. Avi Verma, IndoUS Tribune
Former President Donald Trump is now facing a defamation lawsuit from the Central Park Five, a group of men wrongfully convicted in a 1989 assault case, just days before the 2024 election. The lawsuit stems from remarks made by Trump during a September debate in Philadelphia, which the plaintiffs claim were “extreme” and intended to cause emotional distress.
The five men—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—were initially convicted as teenagers in the brutal attack on a jogger in New York’s Central Park. Although DNA evidence and a confession by another man later exonerated them, the case drew national attention. They eventually received a $41 million settlement from New York City in 2014 for wrongful imprisonment.
Trump’s connection to the case goes back to 1989, when he published ads in four major New York newspapers, advocating for harsher penalties, including the death penalty. He continued to assert the group’s guilt even after their exoneration, including during his 2016 presidential campaign.
The recent lawsuit challenges Trump’s debate remarks, where he falsely claimed the men had pleaded guilty and committed murder. The legal filing asserts that these statements are baseless and continue to harm the plaintiffs’ reputations.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the emotional and reputational harm caused, adding to the mounting legal challenges Trump faces leading up to the election.
