A nonprofit group representing Haitians in Springfield has filed criminal charges against former president Donald Trump and Ohio’s Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance for statements they’ve made about mostly legal immigrants in that city. The group says those false and racist statements made by the GOP presidential and vice presidential candidates have resulted in bomb threats and widespread fear in their community.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance is using a state law that allows private citizens to file criminal charges against the top of the Republican ticket. Their Cleveland-based lawyer Subodh Chandra said Trump and Vance have triggered false alarms, disruption of public services and other harassment by sharing the unfounded, racist rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets. Chandra said what Trump and Vance are doing has gone beyond their free speech rights.
"They need to color within the First Amendment lines," said Chandra. "If they had just made some false statements and left it at that, these criminal charges would not have been filed. But the problem is, they're doing it knowingly and willfully, and knowing what the result will be as they've been seeing havoc unfold in Springfield."
The filing asks the Clark County Municipal Court to affirm there is probable cause that Trump and Vance committed crimes and issue arrest warrants for both of them.
“If anyone else had done what they have done, resulting in what has resulted – 33 bomb threats, schools, colleges, City Hall being closed, the mayor and his family receiving threats – they would have been arrested by now," Chandra said.
The charges in the affidavit are:
- disrupting public service by causing bomb and other threats that resulted in disruptions to public services in Springfield
- making false alarms by continuing to repeat lies that state and local officials have said were false
- committing telecommunications harassment by spreading claims they know are false during the presidential debate, campaign rallies, nationally televised interviews, and social media
- committing aggravated menacing by knowingly making intimidating statements such as Trump’s threat to deport Haitian immigrants who are here legally to Venezuela
- committing aggravated menacing by knowingly causing others to falsely believe that members of Springfield's Haitian community would cause serious physical harm to people or property in Springfield
- violating the prohibition against complicity by conspiring together to spread lies causing innocent people to be parties to their crimes
A Clark County judge will determine if warrants will be issued.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung didn't directly address the charges and again claimed Haitian immigrants to Springfield are illegal though most are not. He said in a statement: "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."
