Springfield Sues Neo-Nazi Group That Allegedly Attacked Haitians Fueled By Racist Trump Propaganda

Source: Michael Warren / Getty

In today’s episode of Why Nazis Love The Trump Administration, the city of Springfield, Ohio, is suing a neo-Nazi group accused of terrorizing its Haitian citizens while acting on propaganda regarding pet-eating Haitian immigrants that was spread by President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.

From MSNBC:

The lawsuit, filed by Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and several other local officials, claims Blood Tribe openly put a “hit” on Springfield last year based on the group’s racist claims Haitian immigrants were threatening the city’s “good White residents.” As an example, it says members descended upon a local jazz festival, waving swastika flags, pointing guns at families and yelling racist slurs before hosting a pro-Nazi rally outside City Hall. The lawsuit also claims Blood Tribe members repeatedly issued threats to residents and officials alike, and it ties the group to 33 bomb threats targeting “hospitals, clinics, elementary and middle schools, universities, private residences, and businesses” in the area. The suit recounts one alleged incident, in which a dozen Blood Tribe members gathered outside Mayor Rue’s house carrying swastika flags. And it says the group sought to “harass and intimidate” people believed to support Haitian immigrants.

“The Blood Tribe sent suspicious packages designed to look like bombs, left harassing emails, sent hateful emails, demeaned the residents and their families on social media platforms, used dating apps to send men looking for drugs and sex to their homes late at night, and publicized their personal information,” the lawsuit alleges.

During Trump’s last campaign, he and Vance spread vicious rumors about Haitian migrants — who were in the city of Springfield legally, by the way — abducting and eating the pets of Springfield residents despite the fact that the city planners, the Springfield Police Department, Ohio’s Republican governor, and Springfield’s Republican mayor all repeatedly informed Vance and Trump that it was not true. Vance also spread lies about migrants causing an HIV spike in Springfield that city officials, including a county health commissioner, also debunked.

The news was fake, but the impact on Haitian communities in Springfield and all over the country was very real. Last September, it was reported that, as a direct result of the MAGA propaganda, Springfield had reported more than 30 bomb threats. Students and educators have been put in harm’s way. Non-white citizens, whether they were Haitian migrants or not, had been put in harm’s way. The turmoil had gotten so out of hand that Mayor Rue expressed that he wanted Trump to cancel a campaign stop in his city due to all of the chaos he and his running mate had caused.

MSNBC noted that Cass Troy, and expert in ideological extremism, told NPR in September that members of Blood Tribe were “delighted” after Trump mentioned the false claims about Haitians eating pets. And it was far from the first time Nazis and other assorted white supremacist groups had identified closely with Trump and the MAGA-fied GOP.

They’re all peas in the same white nationalist pod, and it’s time they were identified as such and held accountable. Hopefully, Springfield’s lawsuit will serve as at least a small step in that direction.

SEE ALSO:

Nazis Get Run Out Of Black Cincinnati Neighborhood After Hanging Swastika Banner Over Highway Overpass

Fighting Racial Trauma: Anti-Black Racism And Public Health