Police in Springfield, Ohio, said Monday they have received no credible reports of immigrants harming pets, contradicting a claim by Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance.
The senator from Ohio, as well as other Republican lawmakers and several conservative commentators, have made the claim in recent days without evidence. The arrival of thousands of immigrants from Haiti has created chaos in Springfield.
In an article in X, Vance wrote on Monday “People’s pets have been stolen and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
The Springfield Police Department said in a statement that they are aware of the “rumors” and have no information to support them.
“In response to recent rumors of criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we want to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific allegations of harm, injury or violence to pets within the immigrant community,” police said. In a statement sent to NBC News.
They added that they had no data to support similar claims of immigrants squatting or disrupting traffic.
“Furthermore, there have been no confirmed cases of migrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Apart from that, there was no information about the members of the immigrant community intentionally disrupting the traffic flow,” said the police.
After NBC News questioned Vance’s campaign about the lack of evidence for his claim, a spokeswoman said the senator had “received numerous calls and emails from concerned citizens in Springfield over the past several weeks” and that his “tweet was justified.” about what he heard from them.’
The spokesman, however, did not say whether any of those calls or emails contained evidence of pet abuse, and did not provide proof of Vance’s statements.
Conservative politicians and pundits have a long history Denigrates Haitian immigrants including unsubstantiated claims of cannibalism, according to historians studying the former French colony.
Wiles Dorsainvil, president of the Springfield-based nonprofit Haitian Community Assistance and Support Center, condemned the latest rumors as uninformed and racist.
“It’s just bigotry, discrimination and racism,” he said. “There is a group of people who made up some news just to smear Haitians.”
Dorsainville said his organization provides immigrants with job applications, legal support and more. helps with He added that Haitians moved to Ohio for this reason gang conflict and political turmoil in their own countries.
“They are looking for a place to support their families and look for work. But it happens that the city is not ready for the influx of Haitians.”
False claims of threats to pets began circulating on social media over the weekend, fueled in part by a fourth-hand story from a local crime-focused Facebook group in Springfield.
The group was set up privately on Monday, but according to screenshots posted on X, one member of the Facebook group wrote, “My neighbor told me that her daughter’s friend lost her cat.” The poster depicted Haitians allegedly taking the cat to eat it.
Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk posted a screenshot of the Facebook post on X on Sunday, and it got more than 3 million views in 24 hours.
The rumor was picked up by other right-wing commentators, including Jack Posobiec, who posted more than 30 times on X on Sunday and Monday. Others, including X owner Elon Musk, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, echoed the claims.
“Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us,” Cruz said He wrote as a title in X in the photo of cats.
As of Monday afternoon, Haitians were the #1 trending topic in the US on X.
In his X post, Vance attributed his pet peeve to vague “reports” and suggested Vice President Kamala Harris was to blame for Haitian immigrants “causing chaos in Springfield, Ohio in general.” In 2021, President Joe Biden tasked Harris with solving “root causes” of migration.
Vance also claimed, without evidence, that the Haitian population in question consisted of illegal immigrants.
Springfield city website he says it’s not true. “Haitian immigrants are here legally under the Immigration Parole program,” the website says, citing a federal agency. 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.
About 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. Jury in May He found the Haitian immigrant guilty Caused a school bus accident that killed an 11-year-old boy.