Central Park 5 Sues Donald Trump For Defamation

This lawsuit comes following the recent debate where Donald Trump attacked the Central Park 5

This morning, members of the Central Park 5 filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania asserting cause of actions for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress associated with statements made by Trump during the Presidential debate on September 10th. 

The lawsuit alleges that Donald Trump made a statement concerning the fact that, according to Trump, the Central Park 5 pled guilty and admitted to "badly" hurting a person. Those statements, however, were untrue. None of the victims of the Central Park assaults in the 1980s were killed.

The lawsuit goes on to discuss an interaction between one of the members of the Central Park 5 and Trump in the spin room following the debate in which Mr. Salaam introduced himself to Trump, at which point Trump said "you're on my side." Salaam responded "no, I'm not on your side" and Trump proceeded to smile, walk away, and wave his hand. 

As the attorneys for the Central Park 5 members note: 

"Defendant Trump has previously made numerous public statements demonstrating that he is familiar with the Central Park assaults, the criminal case, the trials, the exoneration and the settlement with the City, and that he therefore knew that the statements he made on September 10, 2024 were false and misleading. Like his statements at the September 10 debate, many of Defendant Trump’s past statements are themselves false, defamatory and part of a continuing pattern of extreme and outrageous conduct directed at Plaintiffs."

The lawsuit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages for the harm suffered by the Central Park 5 members. Read the full complaint here.

Trump took out full page ads in NYC in 1989 in major newspapers after five black and hispanic boys were falsely accused but were later exonerated by DNA and the confession by another individual after they served years in prison.