It was a dream come true for Democrats. It seemed that former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, were facing the possibility of being hauled off in handcuffs for repeating claims that Haitian refugees were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
And if there’s anything Democrats love more than raising taxes, it’s the possibility of putting Trump behind bars. Unfortunately, Springfield officials still understand that the First Amendment is still in place, at least for a few more months.
A nonprofit that advocates for “humane” immigration policies, the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) filed criminal charges against the duo for the claims, verified by city residents, that Haitians are eating pets in Springfield. They demanded that the pair be arrested.
The HBA’s case asks for charges against Trump and Vance, including felony inducing panic, disrupting public services, making false alarms, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of telecommunications harassment, and aggravated menacing.
The media took the case and ran with it, invoking fuzzy visions of Trump finally wearing the orange prison jumpsuit they have been angling for in failed case after failed case.
The joy was short-lived, however. On Saturday, an Ohio judicial panel decided not to issue arrest warrants for the Republican presidential ticket.
On Saturday, Springfield officials announced that the Clark County municipal court did not find enough evidence to issue warrants or summons for misdemeanor charges against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. City officials said, “The case was sent to the Clark County prosecutor’s office for more investigation.”
The judges who reviewed the case said they must carefully consider “the strong constitutional protections for free speech, especially political speech.” They also said that because the election is near and immigration is a “heated” issue, “the Court cannot just assume the affidavits were made in good faith.”
But HBA won’t let the issue go. In a recent filing, the HBA explained that Trump and Vance continued to spread false claims even though they were causing chaos. The group says the duo continues to ignore the governor’s and mayor’s requests to stop. This behavior, the group says, shows their intent to commit a crime by spreading these lies. The HBA says the First Amendment “does not protect” this kind of “criminal activity.”
It’s not HBA’s first rodeo. The group filed charges against mounted border patrol agents for allegedly “whipping” illegal immigrants with their reins in 2021.
About 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants have come to Springfield in recent years. Many of them were recruited for local jobs and have received “temporary protected status,” which allows them to stay in the U.S. legally.
In a letter sent in July to Senators Sherrod Brown from Ohio and Tim Scott from South Carolina, City Manager Bryan Heck mentioned that housing shortages have been a “crisis” for the city since 2018 and that the growing population has made the situation worse.
In September, Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, announced that he would provide extra state support to help the city cope with the pressure on healthcare and public safety systems caused by the increase in immigrants.
The media gleefully responded to alleged bomb threats and increasing violence throughout Springfield, fear-mongering over thirty-three such scares since Trump and Vance’s claims. But these outlets need some “fact-checking” of their own.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine emphasized that all of the bomb threats were false. “Thirty-three threats; Thirty-three hoaxes,” he said. “I want to make that very, very clear.” He went on to add the threat originated that the bomb threats originated from overseas calls. He declined to name the country of origin, stating it would “only increase” the threats if it were known.
But DeWine wouldn’t admit Haitian immigrants were eating pets if one plucked his dog from the front porch and barbecued it on the family grill. It seems DeWine has ties with Hatiti that extend beyond the current immigrant crisis.
In 1998, Mike DeWine and his wife, Fran, began supporting the Becky DeWine School in Haiti, which is named after their daughter, who died in a car accident in 1993. The school is located in Cite Soleil, a poor area in the Haitian capital city, Port-au-Prince, and is run by a charity supported by the DeWines.
For now, the pets may or may not be safe from Haitian refugees, who critics note eat them regularly in their home country and use them in religious rites. However, it seems that Trump and Vance are granted “temporary protected status” from the litigation-hungry HBA.