President Donald Trump must face a defamation lawsuit brought against him by the group formerly known as the Central Park Five, a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled late Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone denied the president’s bid to dismiss the suit filed in October by the men who were wrongly convicted of raping a woman in 1989.
The five men accuse Trump of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during a presidential debate in Philadelphia with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam, who now represents a central Harlem district on the New York City Council, were wrongfully found guilty of attacking and raping the white woman as she jogged through Central Park.
The five men, who are Black and Latino, were exonerated in 2002 after spending more than a decade in prison.
During the Sept. 10 debate, the now-president made several inaccurate statements about the men and their case.
“They admitted, they said they pled guilty,” Trump said when Harris brought up the case. “[They] killed a person ultimately. … They pled guilty, then they pled not guilty.”
However, that was not true. The victim was not killed in the attack nor have any of the men ever pleaded guilty.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the group “suffered injuries as a result of Trump’s false and defamatory statements.” They’re seeking an unspecified amount for reputational and emotional harm as well as punitive damages.
On Thursday, Judge Beetlestone ruled that the men had shown enough evidence to proceed with the defamation lawsuit, but dismissed their claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“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 attorney, Shanin Specter, said in a statement.
With News Wire Services
