Two organizations representing the Haitian Diaspora filed a civil Complaint [PDF] in the U.S. District Court in Miami on Friday on behalf of the terrorized Haitians who legally reside in Springfield, Ohio.

The named defendants include Republican candidates for President, Donald J. Trump, for Vice President, J.D. Vance, and Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. The other named defends include Donald Trump, Jr., Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) and the State of Ohio.

The Complaint alleges that the defendants, with full knowledge of falsity, not only spread dangerous defamatory lies — the false claim that Haitians were stealing and eating pet dogs and cats — but have also engaged in hate speech, a contention, plaintiffs allege, that is bolstered by a federal judge’s determination, in Segat v. Trump (2019), that then President Trump’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haitians was likely influenced by racial animus. The court based its conclusion in that case, in part, upon Trump’s reference to Haiti as a “shithole country” and the former President’s false claim that Haitians migrants were bringing AIDS to the U.S.

In addition to defamation per se, the Complaint alleges that the Defendants have engaged in a conspiracy to violate their civil rights, including the 14th Amendment right to Equal Protection under law. It goes on to allege defendants incited, aided and abetted violence against the Haitian residents of Springfield…

In seeking not only what could prove to be a significant claim for damages — consider, for example, the $1.4 billion in defamation damages Alex Jones was ordered to pay to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre — the Complaint sets forth significant factual allegations to support a request for a temporary restraining order, followed by preliminary and permanent injunctive relief that would prevent future defamatory remarks. The requests for injunctive relief are based upon factual allegations showing that the Springfield Haitians would be irreparably harmed if the defendants continued to publish their defamatory lies.

The federal Complaint describes Vance as “the ringleader who started the falsehoods against Haitian Migrants, stealing and consuming people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio”. That allegation finds support in what the UK’s Guardian described as a “stunning admission” by Vance that he was willing “to create stories so that the…media actually pays attention.”

The Complaint alleges that, on Sept 9, despite knowledge of the Haitians’ lawful residency and despite the fact that city officials had debunked, as “baseless”, a “pet eating” rumor, Vance knowingly and falsely described the Haitians as “illegal”, repeated the pet eating lie “and accused them of spreading infectious diseases in the community.” (Per the County Health Department, the Complaint notes, “cases of infectious disease [in Springfield] are at their lowest point in a decade”).

After Vice President Kamala Harris taunted Trump about his crowds during a televised Sept. 12 debate that reached 67 million Americans, the Complaint notes, Trump blurted out: “They’re eating the dogs, the people came in and they’re eating the cats”.

The Complaint alleges that “a barrage of threats started the next morning — death threats against Springfield city officials and at least 36 bomb threats so far against schools, government buildings and healthcare facilities.” It goes on to allege that even as the deadly threats to Haitian residents of Springfield and the community, along with the falsity of the pet-eating allegation, became widely known, Trump, Vance and the other named defendants, including Musk, reposted the defamatory lies on X.

After criminal charges were filed against Trump and Vance in Ohio state court by an advocacy group, The Haitian Bridge Alliance, not only on behalf of the Springfield Haitians but also on behalf the entirety of the Springfield community, the Complaint alleges that Rep. Higgins, Chair of the U.S. House Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, retaliated via a post on Twitter/X (emphasis in orig. text):

(Note: Because this statement, eventually deleted by Higgins, which erroneously describes candidates Trump and Vance as “our President and VP”, was made on external media, its unlikely Higgins is shielded from liability by the Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution.)

The Complaint seeks a court declaration that “Defendants’ defamatory statements caused irreparable injuries to Plaintiffs, violate Plaintiffs’ civil rights, and put Plaintiffs’ lives in danger.” It not only seeks an injunction preventing repetition of the defamatory lies, but also specifically seeks to enjoin “X and its CEO Elon Musk from continuing to publish and promote hateful and defamatory statements about Haitians.”

While not included in the Complaint, the terror experienced by the Springfield Haitians could well be a precursor of the terror and emotional harms that would be experienced throughout the nation if Trump wins this year’s Presidential election and makes good on his threat to carry out Gestapo-like arrests of between 15 and 20 million people, followed by mass incarceration and deportations.

Given the potential for grievous irreparable harm, it is certainly within the realm of possibility that a federal judge in Miami could issue a temporary restraining order or even a preliminary injunction in advance of the November 5 Presidential Election. The ultimate outcome of the case, especially the claim for damages, could very well hinge on the outcome of the Presidential Election.

Stay tuned!