Haitian Group Charges Trump, Vance Over Threats to Springfield Community

In the wake of the false claims surrounding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, a Haitian nonprofit organization has filed criminal charges on Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his 2024 running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, over threats to the Springfield community.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance, a group committed to advocating for Haitian immigrants, exercised its right to file private citizen criminal charges on Tuesday after local prosecutors declined to take action, according to Subodh Chandra, the attorney representing the group.
Specifically, the affidavit alleges Trump and Vance disrupted public service “by causing widespread bomb and other threats that resulted in massive disruptions” to Springfield’s public services. They have also been charged with making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing, and complicity.
The charges come after Springfield has been dominating the headlines over the past week after false claims were made that Haitian migrants, who are in the United States legally, have been killing pets and eating them.
These claims have been repeated by Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and Vance. Earlier this month, in his first debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, the former president repeated the claim, saying: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs—the people that came in. They’re eating the cats.”
However, Trump was quickly fact-checked live when he repeated the accusations, as city officials debunked the rumors, and police said there were “no credible reports” of the claims. Nevertheless, the rumors have spread like wildfire online, leaving Haitian immigrants to consider leaving the city as backlash against immigrant communities has intensified.
Chandra argues that both Trump and Vance knew the claims they made were false but continued to perpetuate them, causing harm to Springfield’s Haitian community.
“Their persistence and relentlessness, even in the face of the governor and the mayor saying this is false, that shows intent,” Chandra said. “It’s knowing, willful flouting of criminal law.”
The criminal charges were filed in Clark County Municipal Court, where the nonprofit hopes the case will lead to further investigation or result in arrest warrants for Trump and Vance.
In response to the charges, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said in an emailed statement to Newsweek, “President Trump is rightfully highlighting the failed immigration system that Kamala Harris has overseen, bringing thousands of illegal immigrants pouring into communities like Springfield and many others across the country. President Trump will secure our border and put an end to the chaos that illegal immigration brings to our communities.”
This comes after Springfield has faced more than 30 bomb threats, leading to widespread fear. Local officials have said this included an evacuation from City Hall in which “hateful language toward immigrants and Haitians in our community” was sent to it along with the Clark County courthouse and two elementary schools.
In addition, some members of the city’s Haitian population have expressed deep concerns for their safety.
Chandra noted that the U.S. Supreme Court’s July ruling granting ex-presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution doesn’t apply in this case because Trump is currently a private citizen, and Vance did not speak about the false claims in his capacity as a senator.
“If it were anyone else other than Trump and Vance who had done what they’ve done — wreak havoc on Springfield, resulting in bomb threats, evacuated and closed government buildings and schools, threats to the mayor and his family — they would have been arrested by now,” Chandra said. “So, really, the only question is whether the court and then the prosecutors would treat Trump and Vance the way anyone else would be treated. They are not above the law.”
Meanwhile, Trump has recently doubled down on the false claims. Speaking at a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Monday, the former president made an apparent reference to the Haitian migrants living legally in Springfield by suggesting they have “destroyed” the city and that “you have to get them out.”
Trump made the remarks hours after Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told MSNBC that he is “surprised” that Trump and Vance are continuing to double down on pushing the debunked claim that the Haitian population in Springfield has been eating pet cats and dogs.
“But they’re campaigning, and they’re making decisions in the moment,” Rue said. “We’ve asked before, we’ll continue to ask, we need help, not hate. We need peace, and asking the leaders of the national stage to speak well of our city and to understand the way their words and the impact that it has had on our city.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
Update 9/24/24, 6:57 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Steven Cheung.