Haitian nonprofit files longshot charges against Trump, Vance over Springfield claims

A Haitian nonprofit organization director wants to criminally charge Ohio Sen. JD Vance and former President Donald Trump for repeated claims without evidence about Haitian immigrants in Springfield eating pets.

The Haitian Bridges Alliance filed the charges on Tuesday, citing Trump’s and Vance’s repeated claims without evidence about Haitian immigrants in Springfield eating pets . Under Ohio law , private citizens seeking an arrest of prosecution can file an affidavit with a prosecutor or judge for them to review.

Ohio's Republican Attorney General expressed skepticism about the legal maneuver immediately after it was filed.

"This affidavit seeking criminal charges against Trump doesn’t set out a crime or even allege a causal connection to Trump’s comments," Attorney General Dave Yost wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Though local and state officials said the claims are false, the central Ohio city of 60,000 has been plagued by bomb threats and poor school attendance as the situation gained national media attention.

The nonprofit organization is based in San Diego and advocates for migrants and immigrants, especially those in the Black and Haitian communities. The organization is represented by former federal prosecutor Subodh Chandra. Chandra is now an attorney in Cleveland. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Ohio attorney general in 2006.

The charges against Trump and Vance revolve around disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing and complicity.

The organization asked the court to either issue arrest warrants for Trump and Vance or refer the matter to the prosecutor's office.

Here is what we know.

False claims of Haitians harming Springfield

“Trump and Vance falsely claim Haitians are a danger to Springfield. Now, many in Springfield face actual harm from threats that have even resulted in closures and lockdowns of government buildings, hospitals, schools, and colleges," Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridges Alliance said in court documents. "Trump and Vance caused a massive disruption to a community and city that deserved better."

Attorneys said in court filings that the behavior of Vance and Trump meets the threshold for probable cause and if anyone else had behaved as Trump and Vance did, "police and prosecutors would have filed charges by now."

What are the claims made by Trump and Vance?

With immigration among the top issues for Republicans this election, both Vance and Trump have made repeated claims without evidence of Haitian immigrants in Springfield eating pets.

Vance has accused Haitian migrants of causing chaos in his home state of Ohio, including allegations that they are responsible for stealing residents' cats and eating them, and causing diseases like tuberculosis and HIV to rise in numbers.

"In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbors' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants," Vance said in a post on X.

Trump on the other hand has expanded these claims to an even larger stage during the first presidential debate earlier this month .

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating... they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.

No cats or pets have been harmed by immigrants

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said there's no evidence of any cats or other pets being harmed or eaten by the Haitian immigrants.

"In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community," the statement said.

It also addressed other rumors circulating online:

"Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents' homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic."

Ohio officials react to the filing

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost posted skeptically about the Haitian Bridges Alliance affidavit on Tuesday.

"It won’t survive a cursory probable cause analysis, let alone scrutiny under the First Amendment," Yost said on X.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haitian nonprofit files longshot charges against Trump, Vance over Springfield claims