A Haitian group from Springfield, Ohio, filed citizen criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) over statements made about the Haitian community.
Springfield shot to national prominence after Vance and Trump focused attention on the roughly 20,000 Haitian immigrants who landed in the town, which had a previous population of 58,000. Most famously, Vance and then Trump repeated rumors that Haitian immigrants were eating local pet cats and dogs.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance claimed Trump and Vance put the community in danger. Its lawyer, Subodh Chandra, said the group was invoking its private-citizen right to file charges after the local prosecutor's inaction, the Associated Press reported .
The charges include disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing, and complicity. Chandra is asking the Clark County Municipal Court to issue arrest warrants for Trump and Vance.
In a statement, she attempted to pin bomb threats against schools and local buildings against Trump and Vance.
“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.”
Though Chandra and activists have attempted to pin the over 30 bomb threats on Trump and Vance, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) revealed that they originated outside the country. He didn't disclose which foreign country the threats came from.
In a statement to the outlet, Steven Cheung, Trump-Vance campaign communications director, denied any wrongdoing.
“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,” he said.
Vance, in particular, has defended his statements about claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating cats, especially during an interview with CNN earlier this month, when he said his constituents have brought over a dozen complaints to him.
“Now you ask, 'Why have I talked about some of the things that I’ve been talking about?' Let me just say this: my constituents have brought approximately a dozen separate concerns to me,” he said. “Ten of them are verifiable and confirmable, and a couple of them I talk about because my constituents are telling me firsthand that they’re seeing these things."
"So I have two options, Dana, I can ignore them, which is what the American media has done for years to this community, or I can actually talk about what people are telling me," the Ohio senator added. "And, of course, many of the things that the media says are completely baseless have since been confirmed.”
In the same interview, Vance hit back after CNN host Dana Bash appeared to imply that he was responsible for the slew of bomb threats against Springfield before it was made known that the threats originated from outside the country.
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“Well, what is the implication, Dana? I’d actually love to have this conversation right now live on air. What is the implication when you say, ‘You calling out these problems has caused a bomb threat.’ You accused me of causing a bomb threat,” he said. “Doesn’t that mean you should shut up about the residents of Springfield? Don’t you realize you’re engaged in basic propaganda to silence the concerns of American citizens?”
Trump recently announced that he would visit Springfield.
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