Contrary to JD Vance’s claim, Ohio police have not received any reports of Haitian immigrants harming pets

Contrary to JD Vance’s claim, Ohio police have not received any reports of Haitian immigrants harming pets

Police in Springfield, Ohio, said Monday they had received no credible reports of immigrants harming pets, contradicting a claim by Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance.

The Ohio senator, as well as other Republican lawmakers and several conservative commentators, have in recent days claimed without evidence that the arrival of thousands of immigrants from Haiti had caused chaos in Springfield.

In a post on X on Monday, Vance wrote that “people have had their pets kidnapped and eaten by people who don’t belong in this country.”

Springfield police said in a statement that they were aware of the “rumors” and had no information to support them.

“In response to recent reports of criminal activity by our city’s immigrant population, we want to make it clear that there have been no credible reports or specific allegations that pets have been abused, injured or mistreated by individuals within the immigrant community,” police said in a statement emailed to NBC News.

They added that they had no information to support similar claims about immigrants occupying squats or disrupting traffic.

“Furthermore, there have been no verified cases of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Furthermore, there have been no reports of members of the immigrant community intentionally disrupting traffic,” police said.

After NBC News asked Vance’s campaign about the lack of evidence for his claim, a spokesperson said the senator had received “a large number of calls and emails from concerned citizens in Springfield in recent weeks” and that “his tweet is based on what he is hearing from them.”

However, the spokesman would not say whether the phone calls or emails contained evidence of violence against pets, nor did he provide any evidence to support Vance’s statements.

According to historians who have studied the former French colony, there is a long history of conservative politicians and pundits smearing Haitian immigrants in particular, including with unsubstantiated accusations of cannibalism.

Viles Dorsainvil, president of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, a nonprofit organization in Springfield, condemned the recent rumors as uninformed and racist.

“It’s just bigotry, discrimination and racism,” he said. “There’s a group of people who have made up news to smear Haitians.”

Dorsainvil said his organization helps immigrants with job applications, legal support and more. He added that Haitians have moved to Ohio because of gang conflict and political unrest in their home country.

“They are looking for a place to raise their families and looking for a job. But it happens that the city is not prepared for the influx of Haitians coming here,” he said.

The false claims about dangers to pets went viral on social media over the weekend, fueled in part by a fourth-hand story that appeared to originate from a Facebook group focused on local crime in Springfield.

The group was made private on Monday, but according to screenshots posted to X, someone in the Facebook group posted the following: “My neighbor told me her daughter’s friend lost her cat.” The poster went on to describe how Haitians were reportedly using the cat for food.

Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk posted a screenshot of the Facebook post on X on Sunday. Within 24 hours, the post had been viewed more than 3 million times.

The rumor was picked up by other right-wing commentators, including Jack Posobiec, who posted about it more than 30 times on X on Sunday and Monday. Others echoed the allegations, including X owner Elon Musk, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

“Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us,” Cruz wrote on X, captioning a photo of cats.

On Monday afternoon, Haitians were the top trending topic in the US on X.

In his post on X, Vance attributed his pet information to unspecified “reports” and suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris was to blame for Haitian immigrants “generally causing chaos throughout Springfield, Ohio.” In 2021, President Joe Biden tasked Harris with addressing the “root causes” of migration.

Vance also claimed, without any evidence, that the Haitian population in question consists of illegal immigrants.

A website for the city of Springfield says that’s not true. “Haitian immigrants are here legally, under the Immigration Parole Program,” the website says, referring to a federal humanitarian program for migrants.

Representatives for Kirk, Posobiec, Musk, Cruz and Jordan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

X and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some 20,000 Haitian immigrants have arrived in the Springfield area in recent years, and while they have helped revitalize the city, there have been protests, The New York Times reported this month. In May, a jury found a Haitian immigrant guilty of causing a school bus crash that killed an 11-year-old boy.