The nonprofit asks the local court to charge Trump and Vance with multiple criminal offenses regarding their comments about Haitian immigrants eating pets.
The head of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Haitian migrants, wants to criminally prosecute former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) regarding claims they have made about illegal immigrants eating pets in Springfield.
The alliance filed a bench memorandum and supporting affidavit on Sept. 24 asking the Clark County Municipal Court to charge Trump and Vance with multiple criminal offenses.
The Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm, which represents the plaintiff, said in a Sept. 24 statement that the nonprofit used a state statute that permits private citizens to “file an affidavit charging the offense committed.”
The statement reported that alliance co-founder and executive director Guerline Jozef accused Vance and Trump of six crimes, including disrupting public service by causing widespread bomb and other threats, making false claims and knowingly causing alarm by repeating lies that officials have said were false, and 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.
The legal filing requests that the court find probable cause for the charges and issue arrest warrants for Trump and Vance.
After learning about the request for charges, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told The Epoch Times, “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.
“President Trump will secure our border and put an end to the chaos that illegal immigration brings to our communities,” Cheung said in a statement on Sept. 24.
The Epoch Times contacted Vance’s team for comment but has yet to get a response.
According to Ohio law, a private citizen seeking to “cause an arrest or prosecution” can file an affidavit with a judge, prosecuting attorney, or magistrate and ask them to review the facts and determine if a complaint should be filed.
As part of the legal process, the court must convene a hearing before making a decision about the affidavit.
A spokesperson for the Clark County Clerk of Courts directed The Epoch Times to the Springfield city prosecutor and the Clark County prosecutor. Requests for comment were not returned by publication time.
Chandra Law Firm said the accusations are related to “baseless fearmongering” comments that Trump and Vance have made about Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
“The Haitian community is suffering in fear because of Trump and Vance’s relentless, irresponsible, false alarms, and public services have been disrupted.”
Springfield was once a booming industrial community before multiple factories closed in recent decades, and its population began to decline, falling to just below 60,000 by 2020.
In the past four years, however, the population has risen with an influx of Haitian immigrants.
Anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 Haitians have arrived in Springfield during this period, according to estimates.
The Haitian immigrant issue in Springfield was mostly confined to the city and Clark County until the Sept. 10 presidential debate when Trump called attention to the allegations.
“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,” Trump said.
At an Aug. 27 city council meeting, some residents alleged that Haitians were killing cats, dogs, ducks, and geese for food.
Other citizens said they have informed city officials about missing pets over several months.
Before the debate, Vance said his office had been inundated with those claims.
On X, Vance wrote that “reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
Springfield has closed city facilities multiple times because of bomb threats it received since the debate.
Three medical buildings, three schools, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Wittenberg University in Springfield closed temporarily after receiving bomb threats.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who has expressed support for the Haitian migrants and has criticized Trump and Vance for their comments, recently said that the bomb threats originated from overseas.
Mayor Rob Rue and Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck have held press conferences stating there are no credible reports of pets being injured, harmed, or abused.
In the affidavit, Jozef alleges that Trump and Vance knew the rumors had been debunked but shared them anyway.
Last week, Trump said that, if elected, he would implement a mass deportation of illegal immigrants, starting with those in Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado.