Reuters
September 9, 2015
Five
people are suing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
claiming his private security team assaulted them on a Manhattan
sidewalk as they protested outside
Trump's office, according to a filing on Wednesday in New York state
court.
The
suit names Trump personally, the Trump Organization and Trump's
security director Keith Schiller. It also addresses four unnamed members
of Trump's security team.
According
to the suit, Schiller and the four other security guards attacked the
group while they were demonstrating against Trump's statements on
Mexican immigrants. Guards
took their signs and told them to leave. One of the demonstrators,
Efrain Galicia, said in the complaint Schiller punched him in the head
after he tried to wrest back a sign Schiller had taken away.
"Fortunately
there was video that completely refutes that," said Alan Garten, a
lawyer for Trump. Garten said the video showed Galicia attacking
Schiller.
The local TV news station NY1 filmed and broadcast the incident, which it described as a "scuffle."
Trump,
who leads his competitors for the Republican presidential nomination
for the November 2016 election by double digits, has repeatedly said
illegal immigrants are
causing problems for the country.
"They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists," he said during the June 16 speech announcing his candidacy.
He has pledged to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border if elected.
Video
posted by NY1 shows a small group of protesters holding a sign
imitating Trump's campaign logo and riffing off his slogan, "Make
America great again," with the phrase
"Make America racist again."
Several
of the protesters wear white robes and pointed hoods, costumes worn by
the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan. The complaint says the
protesters dressed
up in Klan costumes to highlight the fact that the far-right politician
David Duke had publicly praised Trump's candidacy and his position on
immigration.
"Anyone
who shows up to protests wearing Ku Klux Klan outfits is looking for
trouble and their goal is to intimidate," Garten said.
Lawyers
for Galicia and the other plaintiffs said their clients were
demonstrating on a public sidewalk and were within their rights.
"Trump may own the building but the sidewalk belongs to the people," said Benjamin Dictor, a lawyer for the group.
"This is a case about accountability for illegal actions," said Roger Bernstein, who is also representing the plaintiffs.
"The Trump campaign violated the law."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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