A Haitian rights organization is seeking the arrest of former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and running mate JD Vance for false statements about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, which has led to a wave of bomb threats and other disruptions in public service in the small Midwestern town.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance filed an affidavit Tuesday in the Clark County Municipal Court asking a judge to charge both men with violating seven Ohio laws and to arrest them. Under an Ohio statute, a private citizen with knowledge that someone has committed a crime can ask a court to affirm there is probable cause a crime was committed and issue an arrest warrant.
The affidavit was filed by Guerline Jozef, the co-founder and executive director of the Alliance, a Haitian-rights organization based in San Diego that has been trying to help members of the growing Haitian community in Springfield deal with the fallout of the false claims. In its legal filing, it asks for a judge, and not the prosecutor’s office, to review its request.
“The prosecuting attorney has not yet acted to protect the community and hold Trump and Vance accountable for the harm they have instigated,” the affidavit says. “Thus, the Haitian Bridge Alliance and Ms. Jozef respectfully request this Court, independently, to find probable cause based on the facts presented and issue warrants for both Trump and Vance.”
Jozef and the Haitian Bridge Alliance are represented by Ohio-based civil-rights attorney Subodh Chandra, who represented the family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in a case against Cleveland police after he was shot and killed by officers in 2014. Jozef is asking for a decision to be made before Trump visits Springfield, which he has announced for this week, though no specific date has been set.
Springfield city officials estimate they have an immigrant population of between 12,000 and 15,000, though they do not specify how many are Haitians. Most of the Haitians are in the United States under legal protections afforded by the Biden administration through extensions of Temporary Protected Status for countries where it’s unsafe for nationals to return, and through a two-year humanitarian visa for nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. In interviews, residents told the Miami Herald that they moved to Springfield based-on-word of mouth from other Haitians who had moved to the city because of job opportunities and lower cost of living compared to Florida and New York, two states with sizable Haitian communities.
Yet the Trump campaign has insisted on describing the community as “illegal” and as being “dumped” there by the Biden administration.
“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,” Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, told the Herald in response to the affidavit. “President Trump will secure our border and put an end to the chaos that illegal immigration brings to our communities.”
The Midwestern city was thrust into the national spotlight and presidential campaign earlier this month when both Trump and Vance, the junior senator from Ohio, amplified a debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield have been eating their neighbors’ dogs and cats as well as wild animals. City officials have said there is no evidence Haitians have been doing this, but Trump and Vance have repeated the falsehoods. Trump mentioned it during his presidential debate with Harris, the vice president and Democratic nominee, earlier this month.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs — the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame,” Trump said at the debate.
The false claims triggered a string of bomb threats that led to the closure of schools, stores and government offices including city hall. As a result, the city’s growing Haitian population has felt increasingly vulnerable and worried about their safety.
“Trump and Vance have knowingly spread a false and dangerous narrative by claiming that Springfield, Ohio’s, Haitian community is criminally killing and eating neighbors’ dogs and cats, and killing and eating geese,” the affidavit says. “They accused Springfield’s Haitians of bearing deadly disease. They repeated such lies during the presidential debate, at campaign rallies, during interviews on national television, and on social media.”
Jozef accused Trump and Vance of violating several statutes, including making false claims that led to “massive disruptions to public services” after the bomb threats caused shutdowns; knowingly causing alarm in Springfield by continuing to repeat lies that state and local officials have said were false; committing aggravated menacing by knowingly making intimidating statements with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass, and by knowingly causing others to falsely believe that members of Springfield’s Haitian community would cause serious harm to others in Springfield. She also accused both men of violating the prohibition against complicity by conspiring with one another and spreading vicious lies that caused innocent people to be parties to the crimes.
Jozef said the impact of Trump and Vance’s lies cannot be overstated. There have been at least 33 bomb threats during the last two wees, forcing many public institutions to evacuate, she said.
“Like those who falsely shout ‘fire!’ in a crowded theater,” the affidavit says, “Trump and Vance do not color within the lines of the First Amendment. They commit criminal acts.”
