(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a brief in support of President-elect Donald Trump in a lawsuit he faces from the “Central Park Five”—the five defendants convicted of a series of assaults that occurred in Central Park in 1989, only to be released in 2002 based on DNA evidence and the confession of the true killer.
Trump’s dispute with the Central Park Five—Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown and Korey Wise—has been ongoing since he called for the death penalty against them in a full-page New York Times ad in 1989. The group sued Trump again last October, after he spoke about them in a debate against Vice President Kamala Harris the month before.
At the September debate, Trump said that the teenagers “admitted – they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty, they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately.” Trump’s statement about the Central Park Five killing someone was false; the Central Park assault victims were not killed.
Trump is winning in ways that weren't even thought to be possible. Latest example: Today, the ACLU filed a brief in support of him and against the Central Park 5.
I repeat: The ACLU is siding with Trump against the Central Park 5.STORY BELOW 🧵 pic.twitter.com/7zfwcjpR2q
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) January 17, 2025
“Plaintiffs have suffered injuries as a result of Defendant Trump’s false and defamatory statements and bring this lawsuit to obtain redress,” the group said in its October lawsuit.
Last month, Trump filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the ground that it infringed on his right to protected public expression. His motion noted that the Central Park Five admitted to having been present during the assault.
Trump further argued that Pennsylvania’s anti-SLAPP statute entitles him to an award of his attorneys’ fees and costs should he prevail as to any claim.
That’s where the ACLU came in. In a brief filed Friday, the liberal organization supported Trump’s bid for attorneys’ fees.
The ACLU claimed that it takes no position on the factual dispute between Trump and the Central Park Five. But if Trump’s motion to dismiss is successful, then he’s entitled to court costs and attorneys’ fees, the ACLU argued.
“If PA-UPEPA’s standards are met, the law’s substantive provisions – namely, its immunity and fee-shifting provisions – can and should be applied in federal court,” stated the ACLU’s brief, which was also drafted by several other liberal groups.
“If the Court were to determine otherwise, PA-UPEPA would be rendered less effective, its objectives of discouraging forum-shopping and protecting speakers in Pennsylvania would be severely undermined, and the Legislature’s unanimous intent to encourage speech on matters of public significance would be thwarted.”
A judge has yet to rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss. The ACLU’s brief was first reported by Court Watch.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
