A defamation suit filed Monday on behalf of the “Central Park Five” accuses former President Donald J. Trump of falsely stating during the presidential debate last month that the plaintiffs pleaded guilty to the assault of a jogger in Central Park.
The suit, Salaam v. Trump, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of the plaintiffs, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown and Korey Wise, who are also known as the “Exonerated Five,” after they were wrongfully convicted in a series of assaults nearly 35 years ago. The complaint alleges that Trump made false statements about the five men during the Sept. 10 presidential debate, which was hosted in Philadelphia.