The beginning of the second United States presidential term of Donald Trump didn't take long to contain many controversies, but not all the obstacles in his way relate to his governance. Rather, a defamation lawsuit against him from the Central Park Five – now known as The Exonerated Five – will move forward, as U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone denied his motion to dismiss on Thursday (April 10) in federal Pennsylvania court, according to CBS News. The convicted politician's legal team argued his comments about Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, and Raymond Santana were opinions about past events that did not constitute defamation in a legal sense.
Also, the defense team argued this defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump did not have any merit and only boasted political gain as its motivation. Nevertheless, Judge Beetlestone ruled against Trump's motion to dismiss, although the judge also dismissed a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress that came forward from the Central Park Five. The five individuals seek monetary damages and punitive compensation for Trump's remarks, citing further harm to their reputation and emotional injury.
Why Did The Central Park Five Sue Donald Trump?
For those unaware, the Exonerated Five's lawsuit stems from a Donald Trump and Kamala Harris presidential debate back in October of 2024. "They admitted – they said, they pled guilty," Trump had remarked during the event. "And I said, well, if they pled guilty, they badly hurt a person, killed a person, ultimately. And if they pled guilty – then they pled we’re not guilty." The court exonerated the Central Park Five in 2002 when new evidence proved they did not assault a female jogger in Central Park back in 1989. Trump had ran a newspaper ad back in the day calling for the death penalty for these then-teenagers.
Meanwhile, a recent Donald Trump endorsement from none other than Kanye West sparked some conversation recently... Yet again. Their relationship went through many twists and turns amid their political and celebrity careers, but Trump clearly has bigger fish to fry these days. We will see how this Central Park Five lawsuit develops in court, as this dismissal does not secure a full victory or defeat.
