The charges come after Trump and Vance claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets in the Ohio town.
In the wake of the false claims surrounding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, a Haitian nonprofit organization has filed criminal charges on Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his 2024 running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, over threats to the Springfield community.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance, a group committed to advocating for Haitian immigrants, exercised its right to file private citizen criminal charges on Tuesday after local prosecutors declined to take action, according to Subodh Chandra, the attorney representing the group.
Specifically, the affidavit alleges Trump and Vance disrupted public service “by causing widespread bomb and other threats that resulted in massive disruptions” to Springfield’s public services. They have also been charged with making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing, and complicity.
The charges come after Springfield has been dominating the headlines over the past week after false claims were made that Haitian migrants, who are in the United States legally, have been killing pets and eating them.
These claims have been repeated by Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and Vance. Earlier this month, in his first debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, the former president repeated the claim, saying: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs—the people that came in. They’re eating the cats.”
However, Trump was quickly fact-checked live when he repeated the accusations, as city officials debunked the rumors, and police said there were “no credible reports” of the claims.
