Former US president Donald Trump was questioned on Monday under oath for a lawsuit involving allegations brought by protesters that his security team roughed them up during the initial days of his presidential campaign in 2015.

According to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Trump testified under oath for many hours behind closed doors at Trump Tower in New York City. If the matter proceeds to trial, a video of the deposition will be shown to the jury.

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Trump was questioned about a number of issues, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Benjamin Dictor, including statements he made during campaign rallies in which he appeared to urge security officers to handle protestors severely.

The complaint, filed by five Mexican-Americans from New York, claims that Trump’s bodyguards assaulted them outside his namesake Manhattan building on Sept. 3, 2015, while they protested Trump’s harsh remarks about Mexico and Mexican immigration.

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Trump, in a statement following the deposition, said the protesters were to blame for the scuffle and called their claim baseless, involving “injuries they never suffered, and the temporary loss of a worthless cardboard sign which was soon thereafter returned to them.”

“After years of litigation, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side of this ridiculous story — Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite President,” Trump said., according to Associated Press inputs.

Dictor, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, declined to go into detail about how Trump handled the questioning and refused to characterize his testimony before presenting the case to a jury.

“While we will not comment on the substance of Mr. Trump’s testimony at this time, we hope today’s events serve as an example that our institutions have prevailed and no one is above the law,” Dictor said.

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Trump is a defendant in the lawsuit, along with his company, the Trump Organization, his presidential campaign and security personnel.

Among other demands, the plaintiffs want the real estate mogul turned former commander-in-chief to pay punitive damages, arguing he should have known the security personnel would act in a “negligent or reckless manner.”

With inputs from the Associated Press