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Haitian nonprofit leader uses Ohio law to file criminal charges against Trump, Vance over false statements in Springfield

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Haitian nonprofit leader uses Ohio law to file criminal charges against Trump, Vance over false statements in Springfield

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Under an Ohio law that allows private citizens to file criminal lawsuits, a Haitian nonprofit leader has filed a motion to indict former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, in connection with damages the candidates falsely claimed were unfounded. Springfield immigrants eat neighbors’ pets and wild geese.

Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of the San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance, has asked the Clark County Municipal Court to issue arrest warrants for both men or refer the case to the local prosecutor for investigation, the firm’s attorney in Cleveland, Subodh Chandra, said in a statement.

“An investigation is neither necessary nor requested,” the charging document states. “Despite the facts presented in the affidavit being public and public for the world to see, the prosecutor has yet to take action to protect the public and hold Trump and Vance accountable for the harm they have incited. Therefore, the Haitian Bridge Alliance and Ms. Jozef independently request that this Court find probable cause based on the facts presented and issue arrest warrants for both Trump and Vance.”

Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer reached out to Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll’s office.

The rumors have created a firestorm in Springfield, where the national media has been swarming for weeks and where bomb threats have closed local schools and government buildings after Trump spread the false rumors during the presidential debate earlier this month. Vance and other Republicans have echoed the rumors local authorities and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine says there’s no evidence to support them.

Jonathan Entin, a constitutional law professor at Case Western Reserve University, said the case was weak. The First Amendment generally protects political speech, including untrue statements. And putting aside the free speech issues, the violations of the law outlined in the criminal charging document require Trump and Vance to do more than just make controversial statements.

Vance repeated the allegations on social media, saying he based them on a Springfield woman who couldn’t find her cat and told police it may have been stolen by Haitian immigrants. She later found the cat in her basement and He apologized for his mistake.but not before the woman’s neighbor shared it on Facebook. The neighbor later said He regretted it and I never intended to cause a nationwide rumor.

Vance said the media was forced to create this story to draw attention to the suffering of the American people.

Trump repeats unproven claims “They eat dogs, they eat people and they eat cats that come in,” he said during the debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. He promised to visit Springfield, but his campaign has not announced a stop.

Trump has also vowed to deport immigrants if elected, starting with Haitians in Springfield. These immigrants are legally in the U.S. under temporary protection status, which gives them the right to work in the U.S. for a certain period of time. The U.S. recently extended that period by 18 months.

Jozef of the Haiti Bridge Alliance said Chandra made the following accusations:

–Disrupting public serviceUnder Ohio law, making bomb threats and other threats that disrupted public services in the town is punishable by a fourth-degree felony;

–Making false alarmsKnowingly creating public anxiety by repeating falsehoods that local authorities say are false, may be punished with a first-degree misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, depending on the severity of the violation;

–Telecommunication harassmentdisseminating the allegations during debates, campaign rallies, television interviews and on social media, a first-degree misdemeanor;

-Two counts aggravated threateningpunishable by a first-degree misdemeanor or a fourth-degree felony for knowingly using intimidating language with intent to harm a person or property, or to harass, threaten or abuse recipients. Chandra said that includes Trump’s threat to lawfully deport immigrants to Venezuela and knowingly causing people to believe that members of the Haitian community in Springfield would cause them serious physical harm;

–Complicity by collaborating with others and involving an innocent or irresponsible person in various crimes.

“The direct impact of Trump and Vance’s relentless lies on Springfield, Ohio cannot be overstated,” the document states. “In the past two weeks, Springfield has received 33 bomb threats. Numerous public institutions have been forced to evacuate, and vital local resources have been diverted to investigate threats to the community.”

Entin, the Case Western law professor, is not sure whether Trump and Vance could be found guilty of telecommunications harassment or other charges based on what they said during the political campaign.

“The First Amendment generally protects people’s right to say things that are not politically relevant,” he said. “The First Amendment generally does not have an exception for false statements.”

Entin points to a 2012 case in which the Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act and made it a crime to lie about military service. California water district board member Who lied about military service and receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.

“A group cannot sue someone who makes inflammatory bigoted statements about a group,” he said. “Jews cannot sue a Nazi for spouting the kind of anti-Semitism that the Nazis spouted. Black people cannot sue the great dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s not because such statements are good or morally defensible. It’s because the First Amendment is based on the idea that government should not be in the business of deciding what is right and wrong, what is just and what is unjust, in general.”

Entin said that, putting aside the First Amendment, it would be difficult for Joseph to prove that Trump and Vance were responsible for the bomb threats.

“Trump and Vance didn’t do these things,” he said. “These things happened, others did. And to be criminally responsible, you have to show that they actually did something. It doesn’t mean that they were morally responsible just because they made inflammatory statements that other people could follow. We can say that the statements that Trump and Vance made were dishonorable, in some ways really morally problematic. But that’s not enough grounds to convict them of a crime.”

Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.