SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A nonprofit organization advocating for Haitian migrants has filed criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, for "baseless fearmongering" that legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield are eating their neighbor’s pets.
According to a release from The Chandra Law Firm, based in Cleveland, the nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance is seeking that Trump and Vance be arrested and charged with disrupting public service, making false claims, committing telecommunications harassment, committing aggravated menacing and violating the prohibition against complicity.
Under Ohio Revised Codes 2935.09 and 2935.01(A), the law grants private citizens the ability to "file an affidavit charging the offense committed." It also requires the court to either issue arrest warrants or refer the case to the prosecuting attorney for investigation.
“The Haitian community is suffering in fear because of Trump and Vance’s relentless, irresponsible, false alarms, and public services have been disrupted. Trump and Vance must be held accountable to the rule of law. Anyone else who wreaked havoc the way they did would have been arrested by now," lead counsel Subodh Chandra said in a statement.
Haitian Bridge Alliance is asking the Clark County Municipal Court to determine where there is probable cause for the allegations and that an arrest warrant be issued for Trump and Vance.
The city of Springfield has been in the national spotlight since the false claims were amplified by Trump and Vance.
Springfield city officials acknowledged growing pains from the influx of some 15,000 Haitian immigrants, but say there’s no evidence to support the claim they are consuming anyone’s pets. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also debunked the claims and said the rhetoric is hurtful to residents in Springfield.
More than 30 bomb threats have been made against schools, government buildings and city officials’ homes since last week, forcing evacuations and closures. Springfield also canceled its annual celebration of diversity, arts and culture in response to the threats. State police were even deployed to city schools.
"There’s nothing special about Trump and Vance that entitles them to get away with what they’ve done and are doing," Chandra added. "They think they're above the law. They're not."
3News' sister station 10TV reached out to Trump's and Harris' campaigns for comment.
