Republicans including U.S. vice presidential candidate JD Vance fuelled a firestorm of misinformation this month when they spread false claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, injecting the town with chaos.
The claims, which have been widely discredited, have made their way onto the national stage. Former President further pushed the false narrative against Vice President Kamala Harris, when he falsely claimed, 鈥淚n Springfield, they鈥檙e eating the dogs. The people that came in, they鈥檙e eating the cats.鈥�
Vance, meanwhile, , defending the baseless rumour on Sunday.
鈥淭he American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 going to do,鈥� the Ohio senator told 颁狈狈鈥檚 Dana Bash on 鈥淪tate of the Union.鈥�
Here is how the misinformation spread from a Facebook post to national news in a matter of days, and how officials are looking to lower the temperature as Springfield deals with the fallout.
How did the rumours start?
A post in a Springfield Facebook group recently claimed that a neighbor鈥檚 daughter鈥檚 friend found their missing cat hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor鈥檚 home and that the cat was being prepared to be eaten, . Those rumours were picked up by conservative media and then spread on X, where they gained widespread traction on September 9,
鈥淧resident Trump will deport migrants who eat pets,鈥� a Trump campaign account . 鈥淜amala Harris will send them to your town next. Make your choice, America.鈥�
GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas showing two kittens embracing, with text overlaid on the image reading, 鈥淧lease vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don鈥檛 eat us.鈥�
And Vance of himself discussing migration to Ohio at a recent hearing. 鈥淩eports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn鈥檛 be in this country,鈥� he said in the video.
Some accounts posted body-worn camera footage from an incident they said bolstered their claims. But that footage was shot in Canton, Ohio, which is more than 170 miles away from Springfield, and as , the woman in the video is not a Haitian immigrant.
One of the first Springfield residents to share the misinformation on Friday that she regretted sharing the Facebook post about a neighbor鈥檚 cat that went missing.
鈥淚t just exploded into something I didn鈥檛 mean to happen,鈥� Erika Lee told the news network, adding later, 鈥淚f I was in the Haitians鈥� position, I鈥檇 be terrified, too, worried that somebody鈥檚 going to come after me because they think I鈥檓 hurting something that they love.鈥�
Ohio officials dismiss claim as false
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue has repeatedly denied the rumours, telling CNN on Sunday that that his city is going through 鈥渁 very difficult time,鈥� adding that city officials, including city commissioners, had received threats over consecutive days.
鈥淲e have been shined under a spotlight that is so bright that it鈥檚 hard to see some of the things that we actually need to be focusing on, and that鈥檚 been difficult for sure,鈥� the mayor told Bash on 鈥淪tate of the Union,鈥� adding that 鈥渨e鈥檙e concerned about the security in our community, and we鈥檙e focused on that right now.鈥�
The fallout in the small city, with threats forcing lockdowns or closures at Springfield鈥檚 City Hall, schools, colleges and hospitals.
Gov. Mike DeWine is deploying the Ohio State Highway Patrol after they received 33 bomb threats since late last week. The threats so far haven鈥檛 had 鈥渁ny validity at all,鈥� the Republican governor said in a news conference Monday afternoon.
Rue said he has not heard from Vance directly, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 fine,鈥� but said the Ohio senator and others propagating the rumours should know that authorities in Springfield 鈥渁re telling the truth to our community.鈥�
鈥淲e are not ignoring the strain that the immigration has put in our community, but we are here to try to put our arms around it and to work as peaceably as possible to have our community secure and safe and thriving,鈥� Rue said.
DeWine flatly denied the rumour on Sunday. 鈥淣o. Absolutely not,鈥� DeWine said on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� when asked whether he鈥檇 seen any evidence of immigrants eating pets.
Haitian immigrants in Springfield
The city of Springfield notes on its website that approximately 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants live in Clark County 鈥� which has a population of 136,000 鈥� and that Haitian immigrants are there legally as part of a parole program that allows citizens and lawful residents to apply to have their family members from Haiti come to the United States.
But the spread of misinformation has tapped into real concerns from locals about the city鈥檚 growing pains, people living in the area .
In a July letter addressed to Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina, City Manager Bryan Heck that housing shortages have presented a 鈥渃risis鈥� for the city as far back as 2018 and that the city鈥檚 expanding population has added stress.
, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, 鈥渁re legally qualified to receive financial assistance, health and nutrition services, employment and education services and housing services. Since immigrants granted TPS must apply for an Employment Authorization Document that can take up to several months to receive, they may need assistance until they can legally seek employment.鈥�
Programs such as TPS and, more recently, humanitarian parole, were introduced in response to natural disasters and political instability and violence in the Caribbean nation.
Haitian workers play a significant role in Springfield鈥檚 economy, filling much-needed jobs, the city says.
DeWine acknowledged the city was having some issues adjusting to the influx of mostly Haitian immigrants through the federal immigration program, but he said they were working to deal with the issues.
鈥淲hen you go from a population of 58,000,鈥� he said, referring to the size of Springfield, 鈥渁nd add 15,000 people onto that, you鈥檙e going to have some challenges and some problems.鈥�
But the governor said that Haitian immigrants in Springfield are 鈥減ositive influences鈥� on the community and that any comment otherwise 鈥渋s hurtful and is not helpful to the city of Springfield and the people of Springfield.鈥�
Trump, Vance continue to stoke the rumours
Vance said last week it was possible the claim about Haitian immigrants might not be true but to continue posting 鈥渃at memes.鈥�
鈥淚n the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who鈥檝e said their neighbors鈥� pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It鈥檚 possible, of course, that all of these rumours will turn out to be false,鈥� Vance posted on X on September 10, adding, 鈥淪pare your outrage for your fellow citizens suffering under Kamala Harris鈥檚 policies.鈥�
In a , Vance said, 鈥淚n short, don鈥檛 let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing.鈥�
Trump, meanwhile, has taken the falsehoods on the campaign trail to drive home his message on immigration after during the debate last week.
On Friday, the former president promised that if elected president, 鈥渨e will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations. We鈥檙e going to get these people out. We鈥檙e bringing them back to Venezuela.鈥�
Speaking in Las Vegas on Saturday, Trump told reporters that while he didn鈥檛 know of any bomb threats in Springfield, 鈥淚 know that it鈥檚 been taken over by illegal migrants, and that鈥檚 a terrible thing that happened. Springfield was this beautiful town, and now they鈥檙e going through hell.鈥�
颁狈狈鈥檚 , , , , , Taylor Romine and Chris Boyette contributed to this report
