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Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nA baseless claim that illegal immigrants from Haiti have been eating domestic pets in a small Ohio city has been repeated by Donald Trump. <\/p>\n
During ABC’s presidential debate, Trump said: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They\u2019re eating \u2013 they are eating the pets of the people that live there.”<\/p>\n
But city officials have told BBC Verify there have been \u201cno credible reports” that this has actually happened.<\/p>\n
The baseless claim had spread on social media, with Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance promoting it on X. As of Wednesday, the post has had more than 11 million views.<\/p>\n
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Vance’s comments “dangerous” and a “conspiracy theory… based on an element of racism”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Where did the claim come from?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\nThe claim appears to have come from a number of different sources which have been turned into a cohesive – though baseless – story by pro-Trump social media accounts.<\/p>\n
At a 27 August meeting of Springfield\u2019s city commission, a local resident who describes himself as a social media influencer<\/a> launched into a speech against Haitian immigrants.<\/p>\nHe gave a long list of grievances, including that they were slaughtering park ducks for food, and accused city officials of being paid to bring in immigrants, but provided no evidence for these claims.<\/p>\n
A claim about a cat being killed by Haitian immigrants was made on a Facebook post focusing on crime in Springfield<\/a>, and attributed by the poster to the friend of a neighbour\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\nThe claims were also reflected in a photo posted on Reddit<\/a> of a man carrying what appears to be a dead goose in Columbus, Ohio.<\/a><\/p>\nSeparately, a news report<\/a> from late August about a woman arrested for killing and eating a cat has also been circulating online.<\/p>\nMany right-wing commentators have referred to the woman as Haitian and pointed to the report as evidence for the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants have been engaged in similar activity.<\/p>\n
However, the incident took place in Canton, Ohio, about 2.5 hours away from Springfield, and while the news report does not mention her nationality, the New York Times has reported<\/a> that state records show she was born in Ohio.<\/p>\nCanton Police told the BBC: “We have not dealt with any complaints of Haitian immigrants at all.”<\/p>\n
In addition to Vance, Elon Musk has also posted memes referring to the baseless claims which have been viewed millions of times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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X\/JudiciaryGOP<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nOfficial Republican party social media channels, such as the Republican House Judiciary Committee X account, have also referred to the claims.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\nCharlie Kirk, the CEO of conservative activist group Turning Point, said: \u201cResidents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets\u201d.<\/p>\n
And official Republican party social media channels, such as the Republican House Judiciary Committee X account, have also referred to the claims.<\/p>\n
The claim appears to have come from a number of different sources which have been turned into a cohesive – though baseless – story by pro-Trump social media accounts.<\/p>\n
At a 27 August meeting of Springfield\u2019s city commission, a local resident who describes himself as a social media influencer<\/a> launched into a speech against Haitian immigrants.<\/p>\n He gave a long list of grievances, including that they were slaughtering park ducks for food, and accused city officials of being paid to bring in immigrants, but provided no evidence for these claims.<\/p>\n A claim about a cat being killed by Haitian immigrants was made on a Facebook post focusing on crime in Springfield<\/a>, and attributed by the poster to the friend of a neighbour\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n The claims were also reflected in a photo posted on Reddit<\/a> of a man carrying what appears to be a dead goose in Columbus, Ohio.<\/a><\/p>\n Separately, a news report<\/a> from late August about a woman arrested for killing and eating a cat has also been circulating online.<\/p>\n Many right-wing commentators have referred to the woman as Haitian and pointed to the report as evidence for the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants have been engaged in similar activity.<\/p>\n However, the incident took place in Canton, Ohio, about 2.5 hours away from Springfield, and while the news report does not mention her nationality, the New York Times has reported<\/a> that state records show she was born in Ohio.<\/p>\n Canton Police told the BBC: “We have not dealt with any complaints of Haitian immigrants at all.”<\/p>\n In addition to Vance, Elon Musk has also posted memes referring to the baseless claims which have been viewed millions of times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Charlie Kirk, the CEO of conservative activist group Turning Point, said: \u201cResidents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets\u201d.<\/p>\n And official Republican party social media channels, such as the Republican House Judiciary Committee X account, have also referred to the claims.<\/p>\nX\/JudiciaryGOP<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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