New York Daily News

Don spew means suit can go on

- BY STEPHEN REX BROWN

President Trump’s tough talk about protesters is evidence he “authorized and condoned” a harsh crackdown by his bodyguard and other staff during a 2015 campaign event in Manhattan, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Bronx Supreme Court Justice Fernando Tapia ruled that Trump should remain a defendant in a suit brought by four Mexican protesters over a rowdy rally outside of Trump Tower.

One of the protesters, Efrain Galicia, charged that Trump’s bodyguard at the time, Keith Schiller, tore a sign out of his hands reading “Trump: Make America Racist Again.” Schiller then smacked Galicia in the face when he tried to grab it back, the suit says. Much of the confrontat­ion outside of Trump Tower in September 2015 was caught on video.

The suit also named two security guards at the rally, Gary Uher and Edward Deck.

“(The protesters) point out that Trump authorized and condoned the specific type of conduct of defendants Schiller, Uher and Deck,” Tapia wrote.

“Finally, (the protesters) presented evidence that illustrate­s that the close relationsh­ip between Trump and Schiller, indicating Trump’s behest guided Schiller’s actions.”

The judge noted Trump’s remarks on the campaign trail about protesters who interrupte­d his remarks, including, “Maybe he should have been roughed because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing” and “Throw him out into the cold! You know, don’t give them their coat! No coats!”

Galicia and other protesters gathered outside of Trump Tower to voice their disgust at the future President’s statement labeling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists.

“Our clients were violently assaulted by then-candidate Trump’s security team. We look forward to trying the case against now-President Trump, Keith Schiller and the other defendants in The Bronx,” the protesters’ attorney Roger Bernstein said. “We will be asking the jury for punitive damages.”

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