The five men who comprise the Central Park Five, and now call themselves the Exonerated Five, have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for defamation in connection with his remarks during the presidential debate.
The lawsuit focuses on the Sept. 10 presidential debate in Pennsylvania, where Trump said that the five men — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — pleaded guilty when they were tried in connection with the assault and rape of a woman who had been running in Central Park on April 19, 1989, and that the victim died.
In reality, each had pleaded not guilty and the victim of the attack survived.
The five spent years behind bars before being exonerated in 2002 after DNA evidence linked another man, a serial rapist, to the attack. The city ultimately agreed in a legal settlement to pay the exonerated men $41 million.
The case came at a time of heightened racial tensions and when crime dominated headlines. Trump, then a real estate mogul, had taken out large ads in newspapers calling for the death penalty for the five men.Â
The defamation suit was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The five men did not ask for a specific amount in relief, but asked that a trial be held to determine damages.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
