“My son was not murdered. He was by accident killed by an immigrant from Haiti,” he continued.
“This tragedy has felt throughout this group, the state and even the nation. However do not spin this in direction of hate.”
Trump and Vance have additionally circulated baseless claims about immigrants from Haiti consuming pets in Springfield. Just some hours after Mr Clark spoke, Trump repeated these claims on stage at a presidential debate towards Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I want that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man,” Mr Clark stated on the assembly, as his spouse Danielle stood beside him. “I wager you by no means thought anybody would ever say one thing so blunt.
“But when that man killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate spewing individuals would go away us alone.”
Aiden was killed when a van pushed by Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian immigrant and not using a driver’s licence, crossed the centre line and collided together with his faculty bus.
The boy was thrown from the bus because it flipped, and several other youngsters had been additionally injured.
Joseph was discovered responsible of involuntary manslaughter and felony vehicular murder in Might, and sentenced to 9 to 13-and-a-half years in jail.
On Monday, Trump’s marketing campaign X account posted side-by-side pictures of Aiden and Joseph, and attacked Vice-President Kamala Harris’ immigration insurance policies earlier than the presidential debate.
“REMEMBER: 11-year-old Aiden Clark was killed on his option to faculty by a Haitian migrant that Kamala Harris let into the nation in Springfield, Ohio,” the caption learn. It claimed Harris had “refused to say Aiden’s title”.
Vance adopted the following day together with his publish.
“They’ll vomit all of the hate they need about unlawful immigrants, the border disaster, and even unfaithful claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by group members,” Mr Clark stated on Tuesday.
“Nonetheless, they aren’t allowed, nor have they ever been allowed to say Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio.”
Mr Clark stated his household had been now having the “worst day of our lives violently and continually shoved in our faces”.
The Trump marketing campaign advised the BBC it was “deeply sorry to the Clark household for the lack of their son”, including: “We hope the media will proceed to cowl the tales of the very actual struggling and tragedies skilled by the individuals of Springfield, Ohio as a result of inflow of unlawful Haitian immigrants of their group.”