Exonerated Central Park Five member turns tables on Trump

‘On the day he was arrested and arraigned, here is my ad in response,’ Yusef Salaam says

A member of the Central Park Five has responded to Donald Trump’s indictment and arrest by taking out a full-page advertisement, similar to the former president’s call for their execution more than 30 years ago.

The five Black and Latino men, who were teenagers at the time, were wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a white woman in New York’s Central Park after being coerced into confessing to the crime they were found to not have committed.

While they are popularly known as the Central Park Five, the members call themselves the “Exonerated Five” as they had served prison time before being exonerated in 2002.

The five men had later receiving a multimillion-dollar settlement from New York City.

“Over 30 years ago, Donald Trump took out full-page ads calling for my execution,” tweeted Yusef Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five members, on Tuesday. “On the day he was arrested and arraigned, here is my ad in response.”

The ad was headlined: “Bring back justice & fairness. Build a brighter future for Harlem.”

“For those asking about my statement on the indictment of Donald Trump – who never said sorry for calling for my execution - here it is: Karma,” Mr Salaam previously tweeted.

In 1989, when Mr Trump was a real-estate developer, he took out full-page advertisements in four New York City newspapers – New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post and New York Newsday – calling for the state to reinstate the death penalty following the Central Park crime.

Mr Salaam’s full-page advertisement had something to say to the former president.

“Here is my message to you, Mr Trump: In response to the multiple federal and state criminal investigations that you are facing, you responded by warning of ‘potential death and destruction,’ and by posting a photograph of yourself with a baseball bat, next to a photo of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg,” it said.

“These actions, just like your actions leading up to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, are an attack on our safety.”

“Thirty-four years ago, your full-page ad stated, in all caps: CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS,” it further said.

“You were wrong then and you are wrong now. The civil liberties of all Americans are grounded in the US Constitution, and many of us fight every day to uphold those rights, even in the face of those like you who seek to obliterate them.”

Mr Salaam said even though the twice-impeached president called for his execution and those of “other four children”, “I wish you no harm”.

The ad ended with another message for Mr Trump: “And if the charges are proven and you are found guilty, I hope that you endure whatever penalties are imposed with the same strength and dignity that the Exonerated Five showed as we served our punishment for a crime we did not commit.”

On 30 March, a New York grand jury voted to indict Mr Trump over an alleged $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

“He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court,” said his attorneys Susan Cecheles and Joe Tacopina.

The former president pleaded not guilty to all the charges during his appearance at the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.

Mr Trump raised a fist in defiance as he arrived at the courthouse amid a heavy security presence from the New York Police Department and the Secret Service.

The ex-president surrendered to the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg upon arrival at the court at 1.24pm. He was arrested and fingerprinted in a room on the 7th floor of the courthouse building.