Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King paid a $75,000 settlement to a district attorney candidate after calling him a “real life super villain” and accusing him of framing a black man for murder.
On April 12, King’s super PAC sent the sum to Carlos Vega, who ran unsuccessfully for Philadelphia district attorney in 2021, settling the defamation suit. The Free Beacon first reported on the transaction on Tuesday. (RELATED: Big Tech Pledged Billions To ‘Racial Justice’ Amid BLM Protests. Now They’re Laying Off Thousands)
Anthony Wright, the man King accused Vega of framing, was accused of raping and murdering an elderly woman and served 25 years in prison. A jury exonerated Wright in 2016, with Wright claiming he signed a false confession 14 minutes after being taken into custody because police threatened him with bodily harm.
King addressed the controversy in an Instagram post on April 4, apologizing for his “wrong” statements.
Icymi:
BLM Activist Shaun King Quietly Settles Defamation Suit with Candidate he Accused of Framing Black Man for Murder
Latest embarrassing setback for activist known for making false allegations. https://t.co/vVnmY9XkfU
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) August 2, 2023
“Carlos Vega, as you may recall, ran against Larry Krasner in the last DA’s race in Philadelphia. Carlos and I may not agree on a lot, but I was wrong about one important thing that I would like to clarify,” King said. “I previously posted that Carlos framed and convicted Anthony Wright of rape and murder in 1993 and that Carlos has lied about it for generations. I was wrong when I made those statements.”
“Carlos was not involved in Anthony Wright’s trial and conviction in 1993. Carlos was co-prosecutor for Anthony Wright’s 2016 retrial — which thankfully concluded in Anthony being found not guilty. I have strong feelings about that case as well, but facts are important, and I wanted to correct the record for my friends and followers,” King explained.
Vega has described King’s allegations as a “bald-faced lie.”
“I was brought in at the eleventh hour, two weeks before trial, just to question three witnesses,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2021.
In 2019, King falsely accused Robert Cantrell of killing seven-year-old Jazmine Barnes. Two black men were later convicted in the case, but Cantrell committed suicide after King shared his photo to social media, calling him “violent” and a “racist.”