Trump and company settle with men who sued him over 2015 protest outside Trump Tower
By Nicki Brown and Kara Scannell, CNN
Former President Donald Trump and his company settled a lawsuit alleging his security assaulted a group of men protesting Trump’s rhetoric outside of Trump Tower in 2015, averting a public trial.
In a two-sentence statement signed by an attorney on behalf of Trump and the men, they said they have “settled the matter and the action has been dismissed.”
“The parties all agree that the plaintiffs in the action, and all people, have a right to engage in a peaceful protest on public sidewalks,” the statement said.
The settlement was reached on the third day of jury selection.
The case centers around a lawsuit filed in 2015 by the group, which was protesting in front of Trump Tower over Trump’s statements about immigration.
In the lawsuit, the men allege that Trump’s then-head of security hit one of the protesters, Efrain Galicia, in the head after Galicia tried to stop the person from taking their large cardboard signs, which read, “Trump: Make America Racist Again.”
Benjamin Dictor, an attorney representing the self-described group of “human rights activists of Mexican origin” who brought the lawsuit, said he could not comment on the existence of an agreement, whether there is a nondisclosure agreement or whether any money was paid to the men.
He said his clients “feel today by resolving this pending lawsuit and having this joint statement it is an extremely important symbol for them, and as an example for other people, that it doesn’t matter whose name is on the building the sidewalk belongs to the people.”
Trump attorney Alina Habba called it “an amicable resolution.”
“Although we were eager to proceed to trial to demonstrate the frivolousness of this case, the parties were ultimately able to come to an amicable resolution,” Habba said. “We are very pleased with this outcome and are happy to finally put this matter to rest once and for all.”
The lawsuit was delayed for years in part because Trump was president. The delays ended after he left office, and last fall, Trump sat for a four-and-a-half hour videotaped deposition. Excerpts of it were released earlier this year. The entire deposition was expected to be played before the jury at trial.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs wanted to question Trump to determine whether he was responsible for his employees’ conduct outside Trump Tower that day.
This story has been updated with additional details.
The-CNN-Wire
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