(Columbus) A U.S. nonprofit organization representing the Haitian community filed criminal charges Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, for the chaos and threats in Springfield, Ohio, since the Republican candidate first spread false claims about legal immigrants during the presidential debate.
During the televised debate with Kamala Harris, Donald Trump repeated unfounded rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were kidnapping and eating pets.
The nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance invoked the “right of a private citizen” to file charges since the local prosecutor had failed to do so, said its lawyer, Subodh Chandra.
Donald Trump and JD Vance, a senator from Ohio, are accused of disrupting public services, triggering false alarms, but also of harassment through telecommunications, aggravated threats and aiding and abetting.
The nonprofit is asking the Clark County Municipal Court to find “probable cause” in the case and issue arrest warrants for Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance.
“Their persistence and their determination, even in the face of the governor [de l’Ohio] and to the mayor [de Springfield]who say it is false, demonstrate an intention” to break the law, Mr.e Chandra, of a Cleveland law firm. “This is a deliberate and knowing disregard for criminal law.”
Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump-Vance campaign, said, “President Trump is rightly highlighting the failure of the immigration system overseen by Kamala Harris, which has brought thousands of illegal immigrants to places like Springfield and many others across the country.”
The 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who have arrived in Springfield in recent years, in many cases after being recruited for local jobs, have been granted “temporary protected status” and are legally in the United States.
More than 30 bomb threats have targeted schools and government and municipal buildings in Springfield, prompting closures, the assignment of extra police protection and the installation of security cameras. Some Haitian residents in the city have also expressed fear for their safety as public vitriol has increased, and Mayor Rob Rue has received death threats.
“If anyone other than Trump and Vance had done what they did — wreaking havoc in Springfield, making bomb threats, evacuating and closing government buildings and schools, threatening the mayor and his family — they would have been arrested by now,” Mr.e Chandra: “So the only question is whether the court and the prosecutors would treat Trump and Vance like they would treat anyone else. They are not above the law.”
Me Chandra said the U.S. Supreme Court’s July decision granting former presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution does not apply in this case because Mr. Trump is currently a private citizen.
Charges brought by “private citizens” are rare in Ohio, but not impossible. State law requires a hearing before the affidavit can be presented. No hearing has yet been scheduled.