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The city of Springfield, Ohio, has filed a lawsuit against the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe and its leaders, accusing them of terrorizing the city's Haitian community and people who support them.
During the 2024 presidential campaign — when Donald Trump, JD Vance and some of their allies in right-wing media spread lies alleging Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets — Haitians in Springfield faced vitriol and harassment.
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 the presidential campaign, when confronted about the racist lies he and Trump promoted about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets, Vance responded that he’s willing to “create stories” for media attention. And it’s clear what kind of crowd these lies have enlivened. Extremism expert Cass Troy told NPR in September that members of Blood Tribe were “delighted” after Trump mentioned the false claims about Haitians eating pets.