Central Park 5 sue Trump for defamation
The group was wrongfully convicted of raping a jogger in 1989


What happened
Members of the Central Park Five, a group of Black and Hispanic men wrongfully convicted as teenagers of the 1989 rape of a jogger in Manhattan, sued Donald Trump Monday for spreading "false, misleading and defamatory" claims about their case last month during his presidential debate with Kamala Harris.
Who said what
Harris noted in the debate that Trump in 1989 "took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the execution of five young Black and Latino boys who were innocent, the Central Park Five." Trump said in reply that "they admitted — they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately."
The jogger did not die in the attack. And the five men "never pled guilty to the Central Park assaults," lawyers for the group said in a filing in federal court in Philadelphia, where the debate took place. They "maintained their innocence throughout their trial and incarceration." DNA evidence exonerated all five in 2002, and they reached a $41 million settlement with New York City in 2014.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump falsely "made it appear that they were guilty," and "it is devastating to be accused of these things all over again on national television to an audience of 67 million people," lawyer Shanin Specter told The New York Times. A Trump campaign spokesperson called the defamation claim "just another frivolous, Election Interference lawsuit."
What next?
The group, now calling themselves the "Exonerated Five," are "seeking unspecified monetary damages for reputational and emotional harms as well as punitive damages," Reuters said.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Why does Donald Trump keeping showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Job hugging: the growing trend of clinging to your job
In the Spotlight People are staying in their jobs longer than ever
-
Why does Donald Trump keeping showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purge
Speed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ouster
Speed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
Trump threatens critics with federal charges
Feature Days after FBI agents raided John Bolton's home, Trump threatened legal action against Chris Christie