A federal court ruling on Friday presented another setback for President Donald Trump as he attempts to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought forth by the individuals formerly known as the Central Park Five.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone asserted that the Anti-SLAPP statute in Pennsylvania, intended to safeguard defendants against lawsuits aimed at protected speech, is not applicable in federal court. This decision directly rejected Trump’s motion seeking to dismiss the accusations against him.
In her 13-page ruling, Beetlestone stated, “The only issue before the Court is whether Plaintiffs’ claims for defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (‘IIED’) can survive under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, also known as the Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Statute.” She further clarified, “Pennsylvania’s Anti-SLAPP Statute (a state law) does not apply here, in federal court,” concluding that the motion presented by Trump would be denied.
The lawsuit was filed in October by five men who, as teenagers, were wrongfully convicted in connection with the infamous Central Park Five jogger rape case. They accuse Trump, the then-Republican presidential nominee, of defamation following statements he made during a debate against former Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10.
Trump was charged with making false claims suggesting that the men were guilty of murder and had admitted to the crime, allegations the plaintiffs have decisively labeled as “demonstrably false” in their legal filing.
The five individuals in question—Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, and Korey Wise—were wrongfully imprisoned for years for a crime they did not commit, involving the rape and assault of a white female jogger, which they were later exonerated from.
Despite Trump’s efforts to have the lawsuit dismissed, he has yet to achieve success in this endeavor. Earlier in April, Judge Beetlestone also denied a separate motion from Trump aimed at dismissing the defamation claims against him.
