Where did Trump’s Springfield dog-eating debate claims come from?

‘As a human being, can you imagine being talked about like this?’ Springfield’s mayor said

At Tuesday night’s presidential debate, Donald Trump repeated the wild, baseless claim that Haitian migrants in an Ohio city are abducting people’s pets and eating them.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating – they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame,” Trump said.

The conspiracy theory appears to have bubbled up from racist rhetoric circulating online about the Haitian community in Springfield, which has a population of 58,000.

Haitians have come to the US in large numbers in recent years after a federal immigration program offered humanitarian parole to citizens from the Caribbean nation and three other countries facing economic and societal upheaval. Haiti has been devasted by major earthquakes and gang violence in the past decade.

Haitians appear to have come to Springfield because of job opportunities and affordable living, according to the city.

The pet-eating claim seems to have originated from a post on a Springfield Facebook group. The person who made the post, however, was not an eyewitness to the heinous accusation, but instead relied on a fourth-hand account.

Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Trump, his running mate, and other conservatives have been posting baseless rumors about Haitian migrants in Ohio eating pets — a claim that officials have repeatedly debunked (AP)

The post, which appeared to have been written in the private group “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information”, read: “Warning to all about our beloved pets & those around us!! My neighbor informed me that her daughters friend had lost her cat. She checked pages, kennels, asked around, etc.

“One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you'd do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat. I've been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at snyder park with the ducks & geese, as I was told that last bit by Rangers & police. Please keep a close eye on these animals.”

The post also claimed that “they”, presumably referring to Haitian migrants, are eating dogs, geese and ducks.

City officials and the Springfield Police Department swiftly rejected the claims.

There have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” a spokesperson for Springfield told WCMH. The police department has received no reports related to pets being eaten.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue also tried to put an end to the wild rumors.

“As a human being, can you imagine being talked about like this?” Rue said, at a Tuesday press conference. “What we’re doing is we’re letting these rumors, this national rhetoric come into our community and divide us.”

Still, the myth has spread like wildfire online, fueled by some right wing figures and conservative lawmakers.

In an attempt to attack the Biden-Harris administration’s border policy, JD Vanceposted a video to X on Monday that “reports” indicated that “people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

A GOP strategist furthered the rumor and billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk also jumped in. “Vote for Kamala if you want this to happen to your neighborhood!” he wrote.

As of Wednesday afternoon, his post had been viewed nearly 50 million times.

Springfield’s website estimates there are 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants in the city and surrounding Clark County. It does not specify the number of Haitian migrants.

However, the website mentions Haitian migrants specifically, clarifying that “Haitian immigrants are here legally.”

“Springfield is also now home to ten newer businesses, opened by Haitian immigrants, including, 2 Haitian restaurants, 7 Haitian grocery stores and 1 Haitian food truck,” the site states.