President Donald Trump should face a defamation lawsuit introduced in opposition to him by the group previously generally known as the Central Park 5, a federal decide in Philadelphia dominated late Thursday.
U.S. District Choose Wendy Beetlestone denied the president’s bid to dismiss the go well with filed in October by the lads who have been wrongly convicted of raping a lady in 1989.
The 5 males accuse Trump of creating “false and defamatory statements” about them throughout a presidential debate in Philadelphia with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Smart and Yusef Salaam, who now represents a central Harlem district on the New York Metropolis Council, have been wrongfully discovered responsible of attacking and raping the white lady as she jogged by means of Central Park.
The 5 males, who’re Black and Latino, have been exonerated in 2002 after spending greater than a decade in jail.
In the course of the Sept. 10 debate, the now-president made a number of inaccurate statements in regards to the males and their case.
“They admitted, they said they pled guilty,” Trump mentioned when Harris introduced up the case. “[They] killed a person ultimately. … They pled guilty, then they pled not guilty.”
Nevertheless, that was not true. The sufferer was not killed within the assault nor have any of the lads ever pleaded responsible.
Based on the lawsuit, which was filed within the U.S. District Court docket for the Jap District of Pennsylvania, the group “suffered injuries as a result of Trump’s false and defamatory statements.” They’re searching for an unspecified quantity for reputational and emotional hurt in addition to punitive damages.
On Thursday, Choose Beetlestone dominated that the lads had proven sufficient proof to proceed with the defamation lawsuit, however dismissed their declare of intentional infliction of emotional misery.
“We are gratified by the court’s ruling and thorough analysis and look forward to discovery, trial and the ultimate vindication of these five fine men,” their legal professional, Shanin Specter, mentioned in an announcement.
Initially Revealed: April 11, 2025 at 5:09 PM EDT
