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As previously reported by REVOLT, yesterday (April 4), Former United States President Donald Trump was arrested and charged with 34 counts of falsifying records. It marked the first time in American history that the highest-ranking official was fingerprinted and put on trial.
The moment, perhaps, could not have been more of a poetic justice for Yusef Salaam. In 1989, at the tender age of 15, he and four other young Black and Latinx boys (Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Antron McCray) were falsely accused of the rape and assault of a white female jogger in New York. The group was sentenced to seven to 13 years behind bars for the alleged attack until their punishment was overturned in 2002. From then on, they were known as The Exonerated Five and The Central Park Five.
At the time of the teens’ imprisonment, Trump had not crossed into the world of politics and was simply a real estate heir. “I want to hate these murderers and I always will. I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them,” he said regarding their case in “$85,000” full-page ads that he’d purchased in several major New York publications demanding that the state implement the death penalty.
Following Trump’s court appearance, Salaam spoke of the sweet victory. “Over 30 years ago, Donald Trump took out full-page ads calling for my execution. On the day he was arrested and arraigned, here is my ad in response,” he tweeted. His post contained an image of writing titled, “Bring Back Justice and Fairness. Build a Brighter Future for Harlem.” An excerpt from his essay read, “After several decades and an unfortunate and disastrous presidency, we all know who exactly Donald J. Trump is — a man who seeks to deny justice and fairness for others while claiming only innocence for himself.” Since his release, Salaam became the 2016 recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama and is running to represent Central Harlem on the New York City council.