Haitian group in Springfield, Ohio, files citizen criminal charges against
Trump and Vance

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By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Updated 6:35 AM EDT, September 25, 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) � The leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian
community invoked a private-citizen right to file charges Tuesday against
former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, over the
chaos and threats experienced by Springfield, Ohio, since Trump first
spread false claims about legal immigrants there during a presidential
debate.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance made the move after inaction by the local
prosecutor, said their attorney, Subodh Chandra of the Cleveland-based
Chandra Law Firm.

Charges brought by private citizens are rare, but not unheard of, in Ohio.
Examples might be a grocery store charging a customer for a bounced check.
State law requires a hearing to take place before the affidavit can move
forward. As of Tuesday afternoon, none had been scheduled.

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 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.�

Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump-Vance campaign, said,
�President Trump is rightfully highlighting the failed immigration system
that (Vice President) Kamala Harris has overseen, bringing thousands of
illegal immigrants pouring into communities like Springfield and many
others across the country.�

The 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who have arrived in Springfield
over the past several years, in many cases after being recruited to local
jobs, have been granted Temporary Protected Status to be in the U.S.
legally.

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. �They are not above the law.� Image
JULIE CARR SMYTH

https://apnews.com/article/haitian-immigrants-springfield-charges-trump-van
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