Haitian group's court case against Trump, Vance referred to prosecutor in Springfield, Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A municipal court in Ohio has found no cause to issue arrest warrants for former President Donald Trump or his running mate Sen. JD Vance.

The Clark County court's decision was announced in a statement by City of Springfield officials in Ohio after a nonprofit sought to file charges against the 2024 Republican nominees for president and vice president for repeatedly claiming Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Springfield despite lacking any evidence.

The matter was however referred to the Clark County Prosecutor's Office for further investigation, according to a statement released Saturday.

Read More: Haitian nonprofit files criminal charges against Vance and Trump for Springfield claims

The nonprofit's effort came after Vance posted claims about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating dogs and cats on social media and after Trump repeated the claims during the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last month.

Though local and state officials have 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 Haitian Bridges Alliance filed the charges in Clark County Municipal Court on Sept. 24. 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.

mfilby@dispatch.com @MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Haitian group's court case against Trump, Vance referred to prosecutor in Springfield, Ohio