Four Mexicans manage to bring Trump to trial: they claim to have been assaulted by campaign staff in 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — Four Mexican immigrants have succeeded in getting their lawsuit against former U.S. President Donald Trump to trial.

A judge in New York could start selecting jurors next month - according to the calendar of the Bronx Supreme Court - for the case of Mexicans who suffered an assault by Trump security agents during a protest in Manhattan in 2015.

Trump himself had to answer hours of questions from the Mexicans' attorney, Ben Dictor, in October at his Trump Tower office in Manhattan.

Although the former president will not testify in the trial,

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Former President Donald Trump speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 24, 2021. Ross D. Franklin / AP

It will be the first time since the 2016 elections that Trump has been seen appearing in court, something he has tried to avoid at all costs in the multiple trials in which he participates.

The immigrants filed the lawsuit after at least one of them, Efraín Galicia,

during a protest outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

The scene was captured by local television stations.

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At the time, many members of the Hispanic community were upset by Trump's campaign comments about rapists and criminals bringing drugs into the United States among Mexican immigrants.

Seven years after they filed the lawsuit, Dictor hopes that his clients will emerge victorious as he claims that they had every right to protest.

“These are individuals of Mexican origin who were protesting after Trump's statements describing Mexicans as rapists and murderers, and they are in this country under the belief that one has the right to protest in the street, to freely participate in protests against political issues and that one can do it without having to suffer violence or intimidation at the hands of people who disagree with you, "said the lawyer.

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Galicia stood with others outside Trump's offices with signs bearing slogans such as "Trump: Make America Racist Again," a parody of Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again."

In images transmitted by several media outlets, Schiller is seen grabbing one of the Galician posters and carrying it towards the entrance of the building.

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Galicia then falls to the ground, near another security guard with whom he struggles.

Another of the participants in the protest was disguised as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, the racist hate group and white supremacy, because at that time the leader of that sect, David Duke, had announced his support for Trump as a Republican candidate for The presidency.

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In addition to Galicia, the plaintiffs are Miguel Villalobos, Florencia Tejeda Pérez, and Norberto García, the father of another plaintiff who died in Mexico.

Trump won the presidency in 2017 and remained in the White House until 2021.

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In 2018, a judge denied Trump's lawyers' request for him to rule on the issue without going to trial.

The judge noted that

the conduct of his security guards.

There are six defendants: Trump himself, Schiller, two other security guards, the Trump Organization and the Trump election campaign.

The case has been delayed for various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of one of the plaintiffs, which caused his lawsuit to be transferred to his father, Norberto Garcia.

Dictor explained that both parties -- Trump and the plaintiffs -- held negotiations this year but they did not come to fruition.

Following his session with Dictor, Trump issued a statement in October in which he said the case should have been dismissed because the only fault lies with the protesters.

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“Instead of peacefully protesting, the plaintiffs intentionally attempted to stir up the crowd by blocking the entrance to Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight wearing Klu Klux Klan capes.

Unfortunately, when security agents attempted to take control of the situation, they were met with threatening gestures and violence from the plaintiffs themselves," Trump said.

"After years of litigation, I feel good having had the opportunity to tell my version of this ridiculous story," added the former president.

Attorneys for Trump did not respond to messages from The Associated Press about the case.

Dictor said the trial could last a week as each plaintiff will testify, plus Schiller and the other security guards.