Haitian community leaders have filed criminal charges against Donald Trump and JD Vance over false claims the pair spread that Haitians were eating pets in an Ohio town.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance filed private prosecution charges after alleging inaction by state prosecutors.
Donald Trump claimed during a televised presidential debate that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were “eating the dogs … they are eating the cats” of the town’s residents.
No reports have been received by the town’s officials to substantiate the claim, repeated by Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance, prompting accusations they were stoking racial tensions.
Trump and Vance are charged with disrupting public services, making false alarms, telecommunications harassment, aggravated menacing and complicity in the prosecution suit.
The filing asks for the authorities to issue arrest warrants against Trump and Vance.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said, “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.”
The 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who have arrived in Springfield over the past several years have been granted leave to be in the US legally.
More than 30 bomb threats have been directed at local authority buildings since Trump aired the baseless claim, prompting closures.
The city’s mayor Rob Rue has received death threats.
The charges allege that Trump and Vance disrupted public service “by causing widespread bomb and other threats that resulted in massive disruptions” to Springfield’s public services” and “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” among other claims.
Charges brought by private citizens are rare in Ohio.
State law requires a hearing to take place before the affidavit can move forward. As of Tuesday afternoon, none had been scheduled.
It came as Trump confused the name of Charlottesville, Virginia, during a speech on Tuesday otherwise focused on economic policy, slamming his rival Vice President Kamala Harris for lying about “Charlottestown.”
The gaffe happened at a rally in Georgia when argued that he won the recent debate with Harris, despite polling showing his Democratic rival won the debate.
The city held host to a far-right rally in 2017, with Trump generating controversy after saying it had “very fine people on both sides”.
