“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, Dana.”

–JD Vance, United States Senator

Springfield, OH ­­­— Today, the leader of nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance filed, on behalf of the Alliance, criminal charges [UPDATED on 9/30/24] in the Clark County Municipal Court against Donald Trump and JD Vance, asking that court to (1) affirm there is probable cause they committed crimes and (2) issue arrest warrants for both men. The criminal charges stem from the devastating harm of Trump’s and Vance’s baseless fearmongering that legal Haitian immigrants to the Ohio town are eating their neighbor’s pets.

The criminal charges [UPDATED on 9/30/24] come after Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and his vice-presidential-running-mate Vance, a Republican U.S. senator from Ohio, repeatedly made wild accusations that have been repeatedly debunked by both city and state officials and many responsible news outlets.

The Alliance is a national non-profit community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black people, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human-rights abuses.

The criminal charges.

Guerline Jozef, the Alliance’s cofounder and executive director, on the Alliance's behalf, charged Vance and Trump with, and seeks their immediate arrest for

• disrupting public service in violation of R.C. 2909.04(A) and (B) by causing widespread bomb and other threats that resulted in massive disruptions to the public services in Springfield, Ohio;
• making false alarms in violation of R.C. 2917.32(A) by knowingly causing alarm in the Springfield community by continuing to repeat lies that state and local officials have said were false;
• committing telecommunications harassment in violation of R.C. 2917.21(A) and S.C.O. § 537.08 by spreading claims they know to be false during the presidential debate, campaign rallies, nationally televised interviews, and social media;
• committing aggravated menacing in violation R.C. 2903.21(A) 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;
• committing aggravated menacing in violation of R.C. 2903.21(A) 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
• violating the prohibition against complicity, R.C. 2923.03(A) and S.C.O. § 501.10, by conspiring with one another and spreading vicious lies that caused innocent parties to be parties to their various crimes.

The memorandum and affidavit [UPDATED on 9/30/24] charging Trump and Vance with crimes can be found here [UPDATED on 9/30/24].

Private citizens’ authority to file the criminal charges.

Ms. Jozef filed the criminal charges [UPDATED on 9/30/24] with the court under the authority granted to private citizens by Ohio Revised Code Sections 2935.09 and 2935.10(A). Those statutes authorize private citizens to "file an affidavit charging the offense committed" and require the reviewing court to “forthwith” (immediately) issue arrest warrants when probable cause supports the charges.

Because the prosecuting attorney has not yet acted to protect the community and hold Trump and Vance accountable for what they have instigated, Ms. Jozef asks the court to find probable cause based on the facts presented and issue arrest warrants for both Trump and Vance. The prosecuting attorney then must make a public decision about whether that office stands for the rule of law—or whether it will further coddle Trump and Vance with complete inaction.

“Probable cause” is a relatively low legal standard, less even than that required to prevail in a civil case, and far less than that required to convict.

Under the caselaw presented to the court, the court must hold a hearing before rejecting the affidavit presenting criminal charges [UPDATED on 9/30/24].

Subodh Chandra, Jozef’s lead counsel, said, “The Haitian community is suffering in fear because of Trump and Vance’s relentless, irresponsible, false alarms, and public services have been disrupted. Trump and Vance must be held accountable to the rule of law. Anyone else who wreaked havoc the way they did would have been arrested by now."

"There’s nothing special about Trump and Vance that entitles them to get away with what they’ve done and are doing," Chandra added. "They think they're above the law. They're not."

Chandra, an experienced First Amendment litigator, wrote in the court filing accompanying Jozef’s affidavit, “Like those who shout ‘fire!’ in a crowded theater, Trump and Vance do not color within the lines of the First Amendment. They commit criminal acts.”

Trump and Vance have wreaked havoc on Springfield, Ohio.

The direct impact on Springfield, Ohio of Trump and Vance’s unrelenting lies cannot be overstated. During the last two weeks, Springfield has received at least 33 bomb threats. Many public institutions have been forced to evacuate, and vital local resources were diverted to investigate the barrage of threats to the community.

The Cleveland Municipal Court issued a similar finding in In re: Affidavits Relating to Timothy Loehmann & Frank Garmback. This concerned the police killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014. A copy of the Cleveland Municipal Court’s order finding probable cause based on the then-affiants’ R.C. 2935.09 affidavit can be found here.

Ms. Jozef alleges that Vance and Trump’s continual rumor-spreading caused others to harass and threaten members of the Springfield Haitian community, and that they should be arrested and prosecuted for their actions.

In her affidavit [UPDATED 9/30/24], Jozef detailed the havoc wreaked on Springfield after Trump and Vance picked up and relentlessly repeated an internet rumor. The city had to close its offices multiple times because of bomb threats. Three medical facilities, three schools, the local Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Wittenburg University also closed or locked down due to bomb threats, some directly mentioning the Haitian community.

Trump dismissed the bomb threats as a problem, saying, “The real threat is what is happening at our border. Because you have thousands of people being killed by illegal migrants coming in—and also dying . . . Those are your real problems, not the problem you’re talking about.”

Ms. Jozef alleges in her affidavit [UPDATED 9/30/24] charging Trump and Vance that they knew that the rumors had been debunked, yet shared them anyway.

On September 10, Vance posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the allegations, though he admitted, “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

During the September 10 presidential debate, Trump was fact-checked by moderators in real-time when he mentioned Springfield.

In an interview on CNN where he was being confronted about the rumor September 15, Vance admitted that he was making things up: “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, Dana.”

And at a September 17 campaign rally, Vance said it wasn’t his responsibility to fact-check the repeatedly debunked allegations.

Yet the rumor was debunked many times by state and local officials, some of whom spoke directly to Vance’s inquiring staff. So he knew, the criminal charges allege.

On September 10, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue refuted the rumor during a press conference, saying there were no credible reports of pets being injured, harmed, or abused. The next day, city manager Bryan Heck said in a press conference that it was “disappointing that some of the narrative surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation…”

Springfield officials even went through months of 9-1-1 data to confirm that no verifiable claim of eaten pets had been made, Heck said in a CNN interview September 15.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also refuted the allegations on multiple occasions, including during press conferences September 11 and September 12, and interviews with CBS on September 12 and ABC on September 15. On September 17, DeWine pleaded for Trump and Vance to stop the lies.

Vance and Trump have also repeated baseless accusations that Haitian immigrants living in Springfield were there illegally, including at a September 18 rally. Trump even threatened to deport the population to Venezuela.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance and Ms. Jozef are represented by Chandra Law's Subodh Chandra, Alexandra Lavelle, Courtney Bow, and Ethan Dawson. They are also represented by Nicole Phillips, legal director, and Erik Crew, staff attorney, of the Haitian Bridge Alliance.

Led by former federal prosecutor Subodh Chandra, Chandra Law is experienced obtaining justice for crime victims, including initiating charges under R.C. 2935.09. The firm also helped pioneer work in holding individuals and companies accountable for civil liability for criminal acts, securing the two leading Supreme Court of Ohio decisions favorable to crime victims on the topic.

If you think that your civil rights have been violated, you may contact us to discuss your options.

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