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Exonerated Central Park Five Sue Trump for Defamation Over Debate Claims

Oct 21, 2024, 04:17 PM

The Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—filed a defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump on Monday. The suit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, alleges that Trump made false, misleading, and defamatory statements about them during the September 10 presidential debate held in Philadelphia, including falsely stating that they had pleaded guilty and that the victim had died. The lawsuit accuses Trump of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The five men were wrongfully convicted as teenagers for the 1989 assault and rape of a jogger in New York City's Central Park and were exonerated in 2002 after DNA evidence and a confession from the actual perpetrator cleared them. Despite their exoneration, Trump has continued to assert their guilt.