Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that immigrants in one Ohio town are eating other residents’ pets.
This claim was quickly fact-checked by the moderators of last night’s presidential debate between President Trump and Senator Kamala Harris.
But what exactly did Trump say, and where did the claim come from?
What Trump said in the debate
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the people who come in, they’re eating the cats … they’re eating the pets of the people who live there,” the presidential candidate said in his first head-to-head battle with his opponent.
“This is what’s happening in our country and it’s unfortunate.”
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When ABC debate moderator David Muir said he had contacted the mayor, who disputed the claim, Mr Trump said: “I’ve seen people on TV saying, ‘My dogs have been taken and eaten’, so maybe the mayor said that, and maybe that’s a good thing for the mayor to say.”
“I can’t believe it,” Harris said with a laugh, then when it was his turn he replied, “That’s pretty extreme.”
JD Vance supports Trump’s comments
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, had already tweeted about the allegations on Monday, but after the debate he defended the Republican presidential nominee’s comments, saying “no one is spreading false claims.”
Vance, the Ohio senator, added that the Haitian community “created a lot of problems” in the region.
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“The goose was killed right before their eyes.”
“It’s leading to animals disappearing,” he said. “Many of my constituents tell me that’s what’s happening.”
“The mayor said there is no verifiable evidence. Many of the residents on the ground say there is evidence. So I think that means the mayor doesn’t know what’s going on on the ground.”
He further reiterated that he had spoken to residents who witnessed geese being taken from a local pond and killed.
Where does that claim come from?
Apparently, the commotion started with local residents complaining about Haitian immigrants at an Aug. 27 Springfield City Commission meeting.
The man, who described himself as a social media influencer, called on the government to “do something” while making unsubstantiated claims about crimes being committed by the government.
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Sky News objects to Trump’s ‘eating dog’ tactics
They would catch ducks in local parks, butcher them and eat them, he said.
Similar claims have appeared in Facebook posts from a local crime watchdog, including one that went viral from an alleged resident who said his “daughter’s friend” had witnessed Haitians eating his cat and that local authorities were saying the same thing to ducks and geese.
Additionally, an incident in August in which someone allegedly attacked a cat in Canton, Ohio, was mistakenly attributed online to a Haitian immigrant from Springfield.
This comes despite the fact that Canton and Springfield are about 100 miles apart and authorities have said the defendants in the case have no known links to Haiti, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC News.
What are the facts?
The Springfield Police Department said in a statement that they were aware of “rumors” but did not have information to corroborate them.
“In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by immigrants in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific allegations that pets have been harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” police said.
“As far as we know, this is a completely unsubstantiated allegation,” Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone said, adding that Trump was “clinging to a conspiracy theory” and “perpetrating it.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Lew also said Tuesday that there are no documented cases of immigrants eating pets.
“These rumors distract from the real issues – housing challenges, needed resources for our schools and our strained health care system,” Lu said at the City Commission meeting.
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Years of turmoil in Haiti have allowed violent gangs to dominate the city, and thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have landed in the city in recent years, their arrival stirring controversy in the local community.
Their entry is part of the government’s Temporary Protected Status program, which provides work permits and protection from deportation to foreigners from Haiti and other countries whose populations are under threat.
Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, acknowledged Tuesday that a “dramatic increase in immigration” is affecting Ohioans, but added that Haitians who have moved to the state are generally hardworking people who love their families and are fleeing danger and looking for good jobs.
Has Trump made such a claim before?
Though not directly, Republicans, including Vance, were stoking rumors ahead of the debate.
“X,” the official account for Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, posted an AI-generated image of Trump embracing a duck and a cat, with the caption “Protect the Ohio ducks and kittens!”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas posted a photo of two cats embracing each other, commenting, “Vote for Trump so we don’t get eaten by Haitian immigrants.”
“Over the past few weeks, my office has received numerous inquiries from Springfield residents reporting that their neighborhood pets and local wildlife have been kidnapped by Haitian immigrants,” Vance said in a tweet on Monday.
“Of course, it’s possible that all these rumors will turn out to be false.”
