Josh Fiallo
Tue, September 24, 2024
Mike Segar/Reuters
A Haitian nonprofit group has filed charges against GOP nominees Donald Trump and JD Vance for their peddling of a pet-eating hoax that has turned Springfield, Ohio, upside over the last month.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance, based in California, announced Tuesday that it has taken advantage of a Ohio law that allows private citizens to file charges without first going through police or prosecutors.
The charges filed against the Republican candidates included disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, complicity, and aggravated menacing.
Lawyers for the group filed motions asking the Clark County Municipal Court to affirm probable cause and to issue arrest warrants for Vance and Trump, just over a month before Election Day. That request will force the court to have a hearing before it can reject the affidavits, reported News 5 Cleveland.
Subodh Chandra, the Haitian Bridge Alliance’s lead attorney, told NBC 4 that the group hoped to hold Trump and Vance accountable as anyone would be if they spread conspiracies that lead to bomb threats, school closures, and disrupted city services.
“If anyone other than Trump and Vance had relentlessly disseminated false information,” he said. “They would have been arrested by now. So the only question is whether Trump and Vance will be held accountable to the rule of the law like the rest of us.”
Baseless claims about Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating pets in Springfield first spread in August. The hoax was initially limited to niche Republican circles but went mainstream after Trump repeated it during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Another missing pet claim—the mysterious disappearance of Miss Sassy from a home with Haitian immigrants for neighbors—was debunked after the “missing” kitty was found in the owner’s basement.
Vance has now also admitted that he’s just been making stuff up to get attention. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, he conceded that he kept spreading the harmful pet-eating conspiracy despite it having no legs.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he told Bash.
Haitian rights group wants Trump, Vance arrested over false claims in Springfield, Ohio
Jacqueline Charles
Tue, September 24, 2024
Megan Smith/Megan Smith / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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.”
Haitians Want Trump Arrested For 'Harmful Lies.' The Campaign Responded With Another Lie.
Pocharapon Neammanee
Tue, September 24, 2024
Haitians Want Trump Arrested For 'Harmful Lies.' The Campaign Responded With Another Lie.
Leaders of a Haitian nonprofit group in Springfield, Ohio, filed a criminal affidavit Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his Republican running mate, Sen. JD Vance, seeking their arrest over racist lies that Haitian immigrants were “eating the cats, dogs, and pets of people” in the community.
The affidavit, filed in Clark County Municipal Court by Guerline Jozef, co-founder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, alleged the former president and the Ohio senator had violated criminal laws including disrupting public services, making false alarms, complicity, aggravated menacing and telecommunications harassment and complicity.
Under Ohio law, private citizens are permitted to file an affidavit asking the courts to find probable cause that alleged offenders have committed a crime.
Subodh Chandra, Jozef’s lead counsel, told HuffPost on Tuesday that the organization was “tired of waiting for the prosecutor to act to vindicate the rule of law and protect the community.”
He added that Trump and Vance “know exactly what they’re doing” when they spread the lies, calling their actions “unapologetic serial criminal activity.”
“I mean, they know what the power of their words is, they know that they have a megaphone and a platform that is so powerful that if they are irresponsible with it, it can wreak havoc,” Chandra said. “They know it, and they’ve seen it as a result of what they’ve done here, and yet they double down and triple down and quadruple down.”
In a statement to HuffPost on Tuesday, Steven Cheung, the communications director for Trump’s campaign, responded to the affidavit with yet another lie.
“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,” Cheung said. “President Trump will secure our border and put an end to the chaos that illegal immigration brings to our communities.”
The city has said that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield live there legally.
Now that the affidavit has been filed, Chandra said a judge must determine if there’s probable cause to support the charges and issue arrest warrants or refer the case to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance claimed in the affidavit that criminal charges are warranted because of the “harmful lies repeatedly spewed” by Trump and Vance and the serious effects on the community.
“HBA is non-partisan, this is not about one candidate or political party. This is about confronting white supremacy, anti-Black rhetoric, and hate speech that seems to be a constant in U.S. politics and that continues to cause suffering. No one is above the law,” Jozef said in a statement announcing the charges.
Vance earlier this month spread the racist — and later debunked — rumor that the pets of residents in Springfield have been “abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
A day later, during the Sept. 10 presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump repeated Vance’s baseless claim.
This is about confronting white supremacy, anti-Black rhetoric, and hate speech that seems to be a constant in U.S. politics and that continues to cause suffering.Guerline Jozef, co-founder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said. “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.”
The former president was quickly fact-checked by ABC News moderator David Muir, who said the city manager of Springfield told ABC there was no evidence of pets being kidnapped and eaten by immigrants.
Since then, the Haitian Bridge Alliance have attributed more than 30 “widespread bomb and other threats” against their community as Trump and Vance have continued to spread the racist lie.
Last week, while speaking in California, Trump vowed to begin mass deportations in Springfield, in spite of the Haitians’ legal status, if he’s elected president in November.
“We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country,” Trump said. “And we’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora, [Colorado].”
The affidavit alleges that Trump’s and Vance’s remarks are criminal acts and “do not color within the lines of the First Amendment.”
The affidavit argued that the two knowingly caused “others to falsely believe that members of the Springfield, Ohio Haitian community would cause serious physical harm to the person or property of others within the community.”
Several Haitian immigrants who live in Springfield have said that before Trump’s and Vance’s comments, people in the city had been “welcoming, nice, and helpful” to them, the affidavit said.
However, now they are “receiving hostile comments and feel like they are constantly being watched by people at work and in their neighborhoods,” according to the affidavit.
“Many of the people we have spoken to left Haiti because they suffered politically motivated violence and persecution, and they have reported feeling scared for their physical safety all the time because of Trump and Vance’s comments,” the document said. “They are terrified that, if Trump and Vance win the elections, they will be harassed even more and even become victims of violence.”
Some Haitians in Springfield have stopped going to work, going out at night or asking for directions, and some have left Ohio, according to the affidavit. Springfield officials also said that City Hall had received a bomb threat, prompting evacuation and a law enforcement response.
“If it were anyone else who had wreaked the kind of havoc that Trump and Vance have wreaked with their persistent and relentless falsehoods, namely, schools, colleges and City Hall being evacuated and closed, threats against the mayor and his family, and 33 bomb threats, you can be assured that that person would have been arrested by now,” Chandra said.
Despite multiple reports disproving the racist claim, Vance has justified his stance and attacked the media for refuting it.
“I wish the American media was half as interested in the stress on the local schools, the stress on the hospitals and unaffordable housing as they are in debunking a story that comes from the residents of Springfield,” Vance said at a rally in North Carolina on Monday.
Related...
Haitian group in Springfield, Ohio, files citizen criminal charges against Trump and Vance
Julie Carr Smyth
Tue, September 24, 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian community of Springfield, Ohio, filed criminal charges Tuesday against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, over the chaos and threats experienced by the city since Trump first spread false claims about legal immigrants there during a presidential debate.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance invoked its private-citizen right to file the charges in the wake of inaction by the local prosecutor, said their attorney, Subodh Chandra of the Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm.
Trump and Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, are charged with disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing and complicity. The filing asks the Clark County Municipal Court to affirm that there is probable cause and to either refer the case for further investigation or to issue arrest warrants against Trump and Vance.
“Their persistence and relentlessness, even in the face of the governor and the mayor saying this is false, that shows intent,” Chandra said. “It's knowing, willful flouting of criminal law.”
A Trump-Vance campaign spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
More than 30 bomb threats were directed at state and local government buildings and schools, prompting closures, the assignment of additional law enforcement protection and security cameras. Some of the city's Haitian residents have also said they feared for their safety as public vitriol grew, and Mayor Rob Rue has received death threats.
“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.”
Chandra said the U.S. Supreme Court's July ruling granting ex-presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution doesn't apply in this case because Trump is currently a private citizen and Vance did not amplify the rumors that members of Springfield's 15,000-member Haitian community were eating people's pets in his capacity as a senator.
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;
— Made false alarms “by knowingly causing alarm in the Springfield community by continuing to repeat lies that state and local officials have said were false”;
— Committed telecommunications harassment “by spreading claims they know to be false during the presidential debate, campaign rallies, nationally televised interviews, and social media”;
— Committed aggravated menacing “by knowingly making intimidating statements with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass the recipients, including Trump’s threat to deport immigrants who are here legally to Venezuela, a land they have never known”;
— Committed aggravated menacing “by knowingly causing others to falsely believe that members of Springfield’s Haitian community would cause serious physical harm to the person or property of others in Springfield;” and
— Violated the prohibition against complicity “by conspiring with one another and spreading vicious lies that caused innocent parties to be parties to their various crimes.”
Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press
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