Katie Deutsch
In 1989, Trisha Meili was raped and assaulted in Central Park, New York. Five teenagers eventually were found guilty of her assault and went to jail. A sixth teenager was connected to the case, but instead pled guilty for another crime (robbery), and went to jail for that. However, in 2002, Matias Reyes confessed to the crime, and all five of the men were found completely innocent. And, in 2022, the sixth man was found innocent of the robbery, with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stating that “Unique circumstances, combined with Mr. Lopez’s youth, made his plea involuntary – and therefore unconstitutional”.
accusing Trump of “omitting key facts”
In a debate with Kamala Harris on the tenth of September, Former-President Donald Trump made several false statements about the Central Park Five, including that they were guilty, that they murdered Trisha Meili, as well as implying that their confessions that the six made- legally ruled to have been coerced- were in fact, accurate. The Central Park Five have therefore filed a lawsuit for defamation,1q. A Trump Spokesman has stated that “just another frivolous, election Interference lawsuit, filed by desperate left-wing activists to distract the American people”.
“BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”.
In 1989, less than two weeks after the attack on Trisha Meili, Trump ran an ad in four New York City newspapers, reading “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”. This came at a time when debate around the death penalty was high, due to discussions over the Central Park Five. While the ad did not mention the Central Park Five by name in any way, it was playing into attitudes from the time. The ad then read “They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.”
let’s all hate these people because maybe hate is what we need if we’re gonna get something done”
In 1989, in an interview defending the ad, Trump then went on to say “And I said, look this woman was raped, mugged, and thrown off a building — thrown off a building on top of everything else. She’s got some major problems, to put it mildly. I said, “of course I hate these people and let’s all hate these people because maybe hate is what we need if we’re gonna get something done”. It is also worth noting here that Trisha Meili was not actually thrown off a building, though the first policeman who saw her said “She was beaten as badly as anybody I’ve ever seen beaten. She looked like she was tortured”.
“was part of a continuing pattern of extreme and outrageous conduct dating back several years, thus constituting a continuing tort”.
The lawsuit against Trump claims that his actions “was part of a continuing pattern of extreme and outrageous conduct dating back several years, thus constituting a continuing tort”. The suit is requesting more than seventy-five thousand dollars for defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Trump was, at the time of the alleged defamation, defending himself against Harris, as she brought up the ad he took out in 1989, saying “Let’s remember, this is the same individual who 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 has previously been held guilty in two lawsuits against writer E. Jean Carroll after she publicly claimed that he raped her in a dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump also has been found guilty of thirty-four felony counts.
Katie Deutsch
Featured image courtesy of Gene Gallin via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including Uni News, Reviews, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
To keep up to date with all the latest Impact News, you can also follow us on the Impact News’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter page.
