Central Park 5: The Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five, have filed a defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, claiming he made false and damaging statements about them during a recent presidential debate. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, accuses Trump of defaming the five men—Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Korey Wise—by falsely stating that they admitted guilt in the violent 1989 Central Park jogger case.
During the debate on September 10, Trump responded to Vice President Kamala Harris‘ remarks about his controversial 1989 full-page ad advocating for the death penalty, which targeted the then-teen defendants. Trump claimed, “They admitted—they said, they pled guilty,” insinuating that the Exonerated Five were guilty of murder. The lawsuit asserts these statements are unequivocally false, emphasizing that none of the men ever pled guilty to any crime, and importantly, none of the victims were killed.
The lawsuit highlights Trump’s pattern of “extreme and outrageous conduct” towards the five men, whom he has publicly disparaged for decades. The plaintiffs are seeking damages exceeding $75,000 for defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, with total compensatory and punitive damages to be determined at trial.
The case stems from the infamous 1989 incident when the five teenagers were wrongfully convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park, a crime they did not commit. They spent years in prison before being exonerated in 2002, following the confession of the actual perpetrator and DNA evidence that cleared them. The city of New York eventually settled a lawsuit with the men for $41 million, acknowledging the wrongful convictions.
Trump’s campaign dismissed the lawsuit as a “frivolous” attempt at “Election Interference,” accusing left-wing activists of trying to distract voters from Harris’s policies. However, the lawsuit represents a significant legal challenge for Trump as he seeks to regain the presidency in the upcoming election.
This ongoing legal battle underscores the deep scars left by the Central Park Five case, which remains a poignant example of systemic racism and wrongful convictions in the U.S. legal system. As the story unfolds, it continues to attract public attention and scrutiny, spotlighting issues of justice and accountability.
