Members of Central Park Five Sue Trump for Comments Made in Presidential Debate

Members of the Central Park Five are suing Donald Trump for “false and defamatory” statements about their 1989 case. Trump made the statements during last month’s presidential debate.

During the debate, Trump responded with “reckless disregard,” stating the members pleaded guilty to crimes associated with the beating and rape of a New York City woman. He also added the teens “badly hurt a person, killed a person.”

Legal docs filed by the Five’s attorney read, “Defendant Trump’s statements were false and defamatory in numerous respects. plaintiffs never pled guilty to the Central Park assaults. Plaintiffs all pled not guilty and maintained their innocence throughout their trial and incarceration, as well as after they were released from prison.”

Adding, “None of the victims of the Central Park assaults were killed.”

According to CNN, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, dismissed the lawsuit as “another frivolous, Election interference lawsuit” set to “distract the American people from Kamala Harris’s dangerously liberal agenda and failing campaign.”

The men are pursuing compensatory and punitive damages, alleging that Trump’s remarks cast them in a false light and caused them to endure significant emotional distress.