The men formerly known as the Central Park Five before they were exonerated filed a defamation lawsuit against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday.
With election day two weeks away, the group accused the former U.S. president of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during last month’s presidential debate with Vice-President Kamala Harris. The group is asking for a jury trial to determine compensatory and punitive damages.
“Defendant Trump falsely stated that plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false,” the group wrote in a federal complaint.
The men are upset because Trump essentially “defamed them in front of 67 million people, which has caused them to seek to clear their names all over again,” co-lead counsel Shanin Specter told The Associated Press in an email.
Specter had no comment when asked if there were concerns some see the lawsuit as purely political because of the group’s support for Harris. “We are seeking redress …