Donald Trump: Citizen charges filed over pet-eating comments [Video]

COLUMBUS, Ohio –

The leader of a nonprofit representing the Haitian community invoked a private-citizen right to file charges Tuesday against former U.S. president Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, over the chaos and threats experienced by Springfield, Ohio, since Trump first spread false claims about legal immigrants there during a presidential debate.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance made the move after inaction by the local prosecutor, said their attorney, Subodh Chandra of the Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm.

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Charges brought by private citizens are rare, but not unheard of, in Ohio. Examples might be a grocery store charging a customer for a bounced check. State law requires a hearing to take place before the affidavit can move forward. As of Tuesday afternoon, none had been scheduled.

Trump and Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, are charged with …