Trump must testify for a lawsuit of Mexican protesters attacked in front of his tower in New York

By Dareh Gregorian - 

A magistrate has ordered former President Donald Trump to testify under oath on Monday in connection with a lawsuit filed by a group of protesters, who allege that their security guards attacked them outside the Trump Tower in New York.

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and Trump's pre-recorded statement, which will be played as his testimony when the case goes to trial, will be his first since he was elected president in 2016.

Six protesters of Mexican origin filed the lawsuit in late 2015 and Trump's lawyers have since prevented him from testifying.

In 2019, they argued that he could not go because he was busy with his presidential duties.

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The Trump Tower skyscraper in New York City, July 14, 2021.Ted Shaffrey / AP

Bronx District State Supreme Court Judge Doris Gonzalez ordered the deposition to take place Monday at Trump Tower.

"We will receive the testimony of Donald Trump under oath this Monday, after years of delaying tactics by the defendants to excuse him from the examination," said Benjamin Dictor, attorney for the protesters. Trump, "" he added.

The incident occurred in September 2015, when a group protested against derogatory remarks towards Mexican immigrants made when he was running for president.

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The protesters allege they were assaulted by security guards while protesting on the sidewalk of the Trump building on Fifth Avenue.

The lawsuit accuses Trump's chief of security of punching one of the protesters in the head when he tried to take away a banner that read "Make America Racist Again."

Media on the scene, including NY1, recorded part of the altercation.

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The protesters sued Trump, his company, his campaign team and the guards, accusing them of disrupting their peaceful and legal protest.

Trump alleged in February 2016 that he did not have to be called to testify as he knew nothing about the incident and had not been involved in hiring the guards either.

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"Due to the breadth and scope of the business, I have delegated all responsibility and authority for the hiring and oversight of all security personnel and corresponding security operations to Matthew Calamari [the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Trump Organization ]", he claimed.

The protesters' lawyers claim that Trump is responsible for the actions of his employees,

, arguing that his testimony was "indispensable."

Trump's attorneys appealed the judge's ruling arguing that a sitting president should not be compelled to testify in a civil case.

But the appeals court dismissed that argument as "moot" earlier this year.