Trump said 'Ku Klux Klan-dressed protesters' who allege they were beaten by his bodyguards have 'no one to blame but themselves'
Trump said protesters who allege that they were beaten up by his security detail outside Trump Tower in 2015 had "no one to blame but themselves." The former president on Monday sat for a four-hour-long deposition about the case.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Cheryl Teh
Mon, October 18, 2021
Former President Donald Trump sat for a four-hour deposition in regards to a 2015 lawsuit.
Protesters allege in the lawsuit that they were hit by members of Trump's security detail.
Trump said in the deposition the protesters have "no one to blame but themselves."
Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that protesters who alleged his bodyguards beat them had "no one to blame but themselves."
The former president made these comments after sitting for a four-hour-long deposition on October 18. He was asked to testify in a lawsuit brought by protesters who allege that his bodyguards beat them up outside Trump Tower during a 2015 demonstration.
The incident happened on September 3, 2015, when Trump was on the campaign trail. A crowd of demonstrators had gathered, some dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods, gathered outside Trump Tower to protest then-presidential candidate Trump's comments that Mexicans were "rapists" who were "bringing drugs" and "bringing crime" to America in June 2015.
Trump's security detail was then filmed approaching protesters and wrangling the placards they held from their hands. Five of the protesters filed a lawsuit on September 9, 2015, against Trump, the Trump Organization, the Trump 2016 campaign, and several members of Trump's security detail, alleging that they were beaten during the scuffle.
It is unclear if any of the five protesters who are suing Trump were wearing Klan robes.
"The Klu [sic] Klux Klan dressed protester case should have never been brought as the plaintiffs have no one to blame but themselves," wrote Trump in a statement posted to Twitter by his spokeswoman Liz Harrington on Monday. "Rather than protest peacefully, the plaintiffs intentionally sought to rile up a crowd by blocking the entrance to Trump Tower on 5th Avenue, in the middle of the day, wearing Klu Klux Klan [sic] robes and hoods."
Trump added that his security staff tried to "de-escalate the situation."
"After years of litigation, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side of this ridiculous story - Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite President," Trump said in the statement.
Trump avoided sitting for a deposition while president, arguing that he should receive immunity from testifying as president. But earlier this month, New York State Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez ordered Trump to sit for a deposition regarding the case.
Trump also faces several other ongoing civil lawsuits, which are moving through the legal system more quickly now that he is out of office.
Trump Dodges Questions in Marathon Deposition Over Protest Violence, Lawyer Claims
Kate Briquelet, Lachlan Cartwright
Mon, October 18, 2021
David Dee Delgado/Getty
Donald Trump testified under oath for about four-and-a-half hours on Monday over his role in a 2015 incident where protesters allege they were assaulted by his security team outside Trump Tower.
The deposition took place at Trump Tower, from 10 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m., according to the activists’ lawyer, Benjamin Dictor, who claimed that there were a handful of questions Trump declined to answer. The attorney added that he planned to ask the judge in a civil suit stemming from the episode later this month whether the ex-commander in chief must respond to those queries.
Amanda Miller, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization, vigorously disputed the account of the proceedings.
“Mr. Dictor’s claim is completely false,” she said. “President Trump answered every single question that was asked of him at his deposition today. There was not a single question he did not answer. They were just not the answers Mr. Dictor was hoping for.”
Trump was joined by three or four Secret Service personnel and two lawyers, Dictor said, adding that the ex-president was presented with evidence, including documents and videos relevant to the case.
“This deposition was like any other deposition of an employer who was a defendant in a civil matter,” Dictor told The Daily Beast following the proceeding. (Dictor is a labor attorney who also represents the NewsGuild, a media workers’ union that represents staffers at many outlets, including The Daily Beast’s editorial union).
“Everything proceeded professionally,” Dictor added.
A video of the lengthy testimony will be played for a jury when the case heads to trial, which is likely to be scheduled during an Oct. 25 case conference.
“After years of litigation, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side of this ridiculous story—just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite President,” Trump said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
Trump’s attorney, Jeffrey Goldman, who was present for the deposition, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As The Daily Beast previously reported, the reality TV maven turned president tried to quash a subpoena that would force him to testify in connection with the suit, but this year, a state appellate court dismissed Trump’s request.
HBO Exposes the Violent Chaos of Trump’s Jan. 6 Rioters in ‘Four Hours at the Capitol’
On Monday, the ex-president was expected to be questioned about whether he authorized or condoned his henchmen to manhandle protesters or otherwise remove activists from his events in general, as well as what role one particular guard—Keith Schiller—played in Trump’s inner circle.
Among the other potential subjects of inquiry on Monday was Matthew Calamari, the Trump Organization’s chief operating officer and former director of security who was present the day of the rally. Last month, sources told The Daily Beast that Calamari was under scrutiny by Manhattan prosecutors as part of a tax fraud probe into the business and its executives.
Since leaving office, Trump has continued to face a wave of litigation, including from his niece Mary Trump and Summer Zervos, who is suing Trump for defamation. Zervos, who was a contestant on The Apprentice, alleges Trump defamed her when he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault.
The protester case stems from a 2015 press conference, during which security guards allegedly roughed up a group of demonstrators who gathered outside the Fifth Avenue skyscraper to protest Trump’s notoriously racist outburst about Mexican immigrants. Months earlier, when announcing his candidacy, he said Mexico and other countries were “sending people” who were bringing drugs and crime to America. Trump also called immigrants “rapists.”
In response, Efrain Galicia and four other Mexican activists displayed a “Make America Racist Again” banner outside the building on Sept. 3, 2015. They also wore parody Ku Klux Klan costumes after Trump was endorsed by former KKK leader David Duke.
Days after the event, the activists filed a lawsuit in Bronx County Supreme Court alleging Trump’s security team attacked them and destroyed their property, and named Trump, his political campaign, the Trump Organization, and Schiller as defendants.
According to the complaint, Gary Uher, one of Trump’s guards, shoved a protester shortly after he put on his KKK costume. While a second activist filmed the incident, Trump security officer Edward Jon Deck Jr. allegedly shoved her, too, after ordering her to stop recording.
Galicia arrived with three protest signs soon after and set them against cement planters on the sidewalk. Uher and an unnamed guard approached the group and tossed Galicia’s banners to the ground, the lawsuit alleges. When Galicia went to reinstall his posters, Schiller “swiftly and menacingly approached Galicia” before ripping one banner in half and walking away with the other.
When Galicia followed Schiller to retrieve his property, the complaint alleges, Schiller “swung around and struck Galicia with a closed fist on the head with such force that it caused Galicia to stumble backwards.” Galicia says an unnamed guard then put him in a chokehold.
In a 2016 deposition of his own, Schiller testified that he clocked Galicia because he believed the protester was reaching for Schiller’s concealed firearm.
Schiller added, however, that he never discussed the Galicia incident with Trump. When asked if he always obeyed Trump’s orders to remove disruptive activists at events, Schiller replied, “Not always, no.”
“I’m not a robot,” Schiller testified. “It’s been times when it wasn’t appropriate and I didn’t do it.”
Meanwhile, in an affidavit, Uher said he “politely asked just one of the demonstrators (who was dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit) to move away from the main entrance” and that he “escorted this person a short distance so that pedestrian traffic in and out of the Premises would not be obstructed.” Uher, a former FBI agent, added, “Beyond this one very brief interaction, I had no other interactions with any of the many other demonstrators.”
Uher also said he was submitting a photo as an exhibit which showed him “gently guiding this individual down the sidewalk, without force…”
For his part, Deck also denied attacking any of the demonstrators. In a 2016 deposition, Deck said he saw someone “run after Mr. Schiller and jump on his back and grab him around the waist,” so he grabbed the person to protect the fellow guard.
“I saw somebody creating a very, very extremely dangerous situation of going for somebody’s gun on a waistband, underneath his—on his hip,” Deck testified.
“There is no other physical act that occurred which could give rise to any claim of an assault or battery,” Deck stated in a 2017 affidavit, “and I committed no such act.”
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Cheryl Teh
Mon, October 18, 2021
Former President Donald Trump sat for a four-hour deposition in regards to a 2015 lawsuit.
Protesters allege in the lawsuit that they were hit by members of Trump's security detail.
Trump said in the deposition the protesters have "no one to blame but themselves."
Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that protesters who alleged his bodyguards beat them had "no one to blame but themselves."
The former president made these comments after sitting for a four-hour-long deposition on October 18. He was asked to testify in a lawsuit brought by protesters who allege that his bodyguards beat them up outside Trump Tower during a 2015 demonstration.
The incident happened on September 3, 2015, when Trump was on the campaign trail. A crowd of demonstrators had gathered, some dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods, gathered outside Trump Tower to protest then-presidential candidate Trump's comments that Mexicans were "rapists" who were "bringing drugs" and "bringing crime" to America in June 2015.
Trump's security detail was then filmed approaching protesters and wrangling the placards they held from their hands. Five of the protesters filed a lawsuit on September 9, 2015, against Trump, the Trump Organization, the Trump 2016 campaign, and several members of Trump's security detail, alleging that they were beaten during the scuffle.
It is unclear if any of the five protesters who are suing Trump were wearing Klan robes.
"The Klu [sic] Klux Klan dressed protester case should have never been brought as the plaintiffs have no one to blame but themselves," wrote Trump in a statement posted to Twitter by his spokeswoman Liz Harrington on Monday. "Rather than protest peacefully, the plaintiffs intentionally sought to rile up a crowd by blocking the entrance to Trump Tower on 5th Avenue, in the middle of the day, wearing Klu Klux Klan [sic] robes and hoods."
Trump added that his security staff tried to "de-escalate the situation."
"After years of litigation, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side of this ridiculous story - Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite President," Trump said in the statement.
Trump avoided sitting for a deposition while president, arguing that he should receive immunity from testifying as president. But earlier this month, New York State Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez ordered Trump to sit for a deposition regarding the case.
Trump also faces several other ongoing civil lawsuits, which are moving through the legal system more quickly now that he is out of office.
Trump Dodges Questions in Marathon Deposition Over Protest Violence, Lawyer Claims
Kate Briquelet, Lachlan Cartwright
Mon, October 18, 2021
David Dee Delgado/Getty
Donald Trump testified under oath for about four-and-a-half hours on Monday over his role in a 2015 incident where protesters allege they were assaulted by his security team outside Trump Tower.
The deposition took place at Trump Tower, from 10 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m., according to the activists’ lawyer, Benjamin Dictor, who claimed that there were a handful of questions Trump declined to answer. The attorney added that he planned to ask the judge in a civil suit stemming from the episode later this month whether the ex-commander in chief must respond to those queries.
Amanda Miller, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization, vigorously disputed the account of the proceedings.
“Mr. Dictor’s claim is completely false,” she said. “President Trump answered every single question that was asked of him at his deposition today. There was not a single question he did not answer. They were just not the answers Mr. Dictor was hoping for.”
Trump was joined by three or four Secret Service personnel and two lawyers, Dictor said, adding that the ex-president was presented with evidence, including documents and videos relevant to the case.
“This deposition was like any other deposition of an employer who was a defendant in a civil matter,” Dictor told The Daily Beast following the proceeding. (Dictor is a labor attorney who also represents the NewsGuild, a media workers’ union that represents staffers at many outlets, including The Daily Beast’s editorial union).
“Everything proceeded professionally,” Dictor added.
A video of the lengthy testimony will be played for a jury when the case heads to trial, which is likely to be scheduled during an Oct. 25 case conference.
“After years of litigation, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side of this ridiculous story—just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite President,” Trump said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
Trump’s attorney, Jeffrey Goldman, who was present for the deposition, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As The Daily Beast previously reported, the reality TV maven turned president tried to quash a subpoena that would force him to testify in connection with the suit, but this year, a state appellate court dismissed Trump’s request.
HBO Exposes the Violent Chaos of Trump’s Jan. 6 Rioters in ‘Four Hours at the Capitol’
On Monday, the ex-president was expected to be questioned about whether he authorized or condoned his henchmen to manhandle protesters or otherwise remove activists from his events in general, as well as what role one particular guard—Keith Schiller—played in Trump’s inner circle.
Among the other potential subjects of inquiry on Monday was Matthew Calamari, the Trump Organization’s chief operating officer and former director of security who was present the day of the rally. Last month, sources told The Daily Beast that Calamari was under scrutiny by Manhattan prosecutors as part of a tax fraud probe into the business and its executives.
Since leaving office, Trump has continued to face a wave of litigation, including from his niece Mary Trump and Summer Zervos, who is suing Trump for defamation. Zervos, who was a contestant on The Apprentice, alleges Trump defamed her when he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault.
The protester case stems from a 2015 press conference, during which security guards allegedly roughed up a group of demonstrators who gathered outside the Fifth Avenue skyscraper to protest Trump’s notoriously racist outburst about Mexican immigrants. Months earlier, when announcing his candidacy, he said Mexico and other countries were “sending people” who were bringing drugs and crime to America. Trump also called immigrants “rapists.”
In response, Efrain Galicia and four other Mexican activists displayed a “Make America Racist Again” banner outside the building on Sept. 3, 2015. They also wore parody Ku Klux Klan costumes after Trump was endorsed by former KKK leader David Duke.
Days after the event, the activists filed a lawsuit in Bronx County Supreme Court alleging Trump’s security team attacked them and destroyed their property, and named Trump, his political campaign, the Trump Organization, and Schiller as defendants.
According to the complaint, Gary Uher, one of Trump’s guards, shoved a protester shortly after he put on his KKK costume. While a second activist filmed the incident, Trump security officer Edward Jon Deck Jr. allegedly shoved her, too, after ordering her to stop recording.
Galicia arrived with three protest signs soon after and set them against cement planters on the sidewalk. Uher and an unnamed guard approached the group and tossed Galicia’s banners to the ground, the lawsuit alleges. When Galicia went to reinstall his posters, Schiller “swiftly and menacingly approached Galicia” before ripping one banner in half and walking away with the other.
When Galicia followed Schiller to retrieve his property, the complaint alleges, Schiller “swung around and struck Galicia with a closed fist on the head with such force that it caused Galicia to stumble backwards.” Galicia says an unnamed guard then put him in a chokehold.
In a 2016 deposition of his own, Schiller testified that he clocked Galicia because he believed the protester was reaching for Schiller’s concealed firearm.
Schiller added, however, that he never discussed the Galicia incident with Trump. When asked if he always obeyed Trump’s orders to remove disruptive activists at events, Schiller replied, “Not always, no.”
“I’m not a robot,” Schiller testified. “It’s been times when it wasn’t appropriate and I didn’t do it.”
Meanwhile, in an affidavit, Uher said he “politely asked just one of the demonstrators (who was dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit) to move away from the main entrance” and that he “escorted this person a short distance so that pedestrian traffic in and out of the Premises would not be obstructed.” Uher, a former FBI agent, added, “Beyond this one very brief interaction, I had no other interactions with any of the many other demonstrators.”
Uher also said he was submitting a photo as an exhibit which showed him “gently guiding this individual down the sidewalk, without force…”
For his part, Deck also denied attacking any of the demonstrators. In a 2016 deposition, Deck said he saw someone “run after Mr. Schiller and jump on his back and grab him around the waist,” so he grabbed the person to protect the fellow guard.
“I saw somebody creating a very, very extremely dangerous situation of going for somebody’s gun on a waistband, underneath his—on his hip,” Deck testified.
“There is no other physical act that occurred which could give rise to any claim of an assault or battery,” Deck stated in a 2017 affidavit, “and I committed no such act.”
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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