The father of an 11-year-old boy who was killed when a Haitian immigrant crashed a minivan into a school bus has demanded that “morally bankrupt” JD Vance and Donald Trump stop using his son’s name to push their anti-immigration agenda.
Barely an hour before Trump got on the national stage to parrot the false, right-wing claim that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating people’s pets, Nathan Clark went before the Springfield City Commission to tell politicians like Vance and Trump to stop using his son as “a political tool.”
“This needs to stop now,” Clark said. “They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis and even untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members.
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“However, they are not allowed, nor have they ever been allowed, to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio.”
Aiden Clark was killed when Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian immigrant with a valid driver’s license, drove a minivan into his school bus last year. Vance, who has had Springfield, Ohio and its large Haitian population in his sights since Trump tapped him as his vice-presidential pick, has repeatedly invoked the Clark family’s tragedy, most recently referring to Aiden as “a child who was murdered by a Haitian migrant.”
Nathan Clark emphasized on Tuesday that his son “was not murdered,” but was “accidentally killed” in a tragedy that has been “felt all over this community, this state and even the nation.” With his wife next to him, he begged for “the incessant group of hate-spewing people” to leave his family alone.
“The last thing we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces,” he said. “But even that’s not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem like our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate.”
Nathan Clark also called out Bernie Moreno, the Ohio Republican nominee for Senate; and Representative Chip Roy of Texas, for using Aiden as a “political tool.” He beseeched those listening to his public comment to “stop the hate” and live like Aiden, a passionate gardener who used to research different cultures to better connect with others in his community.
“One of the worst feelings in the world is to not be able to protect your child. Even worse, we can’t even protect his memory when he’s gone,” Nathan Clark said.
“I said to Aidan that I would try to make a difference in his honor. This is it.”
