Ap
The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, September 25, 2024, p. 26
Columbus — The leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, filed a criminal charge yesterday against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, over the chaos and threats that have engendered in the city since Trump first spread false claims about undocumented migrants there during the presidential debate.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance invoked its right as a private party to file the charges after local prosecutors failed to act, said its attorney, Subodh Chandra of the Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm.
Trump and Vance, a senator from Ohio, were charged with disruption of public services, issuing false alarms, harassment, aggravated menacing and aiding and abetting. The lawsuit asks the Clark County Municipal Court to find probable cause and subject the case to further investigation, or issue arrest warrants for both men.
It is his persistence and his obstinacy, even when the governor and the mayor said it was false, that shows his intentionChandra noted. It is a conscious and intentional disregard for the criminal law.
As of yesterday, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance campaign team had not responded to a request for comment.
Following the claims that Haitian migrants were eating pets, more than 30 bomb threats were received at state and local government buildings and schools, prompting lockdowns, the assignment of extra law enforcement protection and the installation of security cameras. Some of the city’s Haitian residents also say they feared for their safety as public antipathy grew, and Mayor Rob Rue received death threats.
If Trump and Vance had not been responsible for unleashing chaos in Springfield, anyone else would have been arrested by now.Chandra said.
