Christopher Pohlhaus, leader of the national neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, took to his Telegram channel the day after former President Donald Trump’s presidential debate in Springfield, Ohio, where he spread a false story about Haitian immigrants eating pets.
Pohlhaus, a Marine-turned-tattoo artist known to his hundreds of followers as “The Hammer,” wrote that Blood Tribe “propelled Springfield into the public consciousness.”
Members of his hate group agreed. “The president is talking about it now,” one member wrote on Gab, a Twitter-like service popular with extremists. “This is what true power looks like.”
Trump’s line at the debate was the culmination of a week of gossip, and it appears to have been fueled at least by the Blood Tribe, which has sought to demonize the local Haitian community online and in person. Controversy It got more than 67 million viewersAccording to Nielsen media analytics company.
As with most rumors, it’s hard to pinpoint the origin of the unsubstantiated claims of Haitians eating pets in Springfield, but the Blood Tribe certainly helped spread it.
Beginning in late June, people in local Facebook groups posted about Haitian children chasing ducks and geese. Around the same time, the conservative media described Springfield as “flooded” with Haitian immigrants. Over the next few weeks, Facebook complaints, still without proofdarkened by anonymous posters claiming to have heard that ducks and geese were missing or even being eaten by immigrant neighbors.
Springfield Police Department This was reported by NBC News “There have been no credible reports or specific allegations of harm, injury or exploitation of pets by individuals within the immigrant community.”
As the blue-collar city’s immigration-driven population grew, the rumor began to grow legs in private local groups. national news in an election year.
When the Blood Tribe began posting about Springfield on Telegram and Gab last month, it fueled racist rumors about Haitians and blacks in general eating their pets. In a hate-filled Gab post in early September that included numerous racial epithets, the group claimed that Haitians were “eating ducks outside city parks.” Blood Tribe’s reach is unclear, as its Gab and Telegram accounts have less than 1,000 followers.
In response to a request for comment sent to Pohlhaus, Blood Tribe said in an email that it stands by its claims and will continue to act to make sure Haitian immigrants “are all repatriated.”
The allegations began to spread in more conservative spaces, especially on social media.
A few days after Blood Tribe’s Gab post, @EndWokeness, an X account unaffiliated with Blood Tribe popular in conservative circles, posted a screenshot of the message board post and a photo of a man holding what appears to be a goose. The screenshot claims Haitians stole and ate a neighbor’s cat, and a message from the X account says “ducks and pets are disappearing.” According to X’s public metrics, this post has been viewed 4.9 million times.
The the person who originally wrote it said the photo was taken in Columbus, Ohio, and that he did not know the person’s ethnicity and did not believe the photo should be used to spread false rumors.
Nevertheless, the article caused a huge splash for the rumor. According to data from online threat monitoring company Peak Metrics, the persistent chatter that started in August began to die down earlier this month. But the gas post sparked a second wave of virality.
From there, rumors snowballed. According to an analysis by digital research company Memetica, claims of residents stealing pets, animal sacrifice and voodoo worship, as well as talk of a “great replacement” conspiracy began to circulate.
Memes followed. The AI-generated footage went viral, first on 4chan and then on MAGA communities of X’s pets and waterfowl being hugged and protected by Trump, pushing conspiracy theories further into the mainstream. At the height of the spread this week, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, promoted baseless rumors on his X account.
“Of course, all of these rumors may turn out to be false,” Vance wrote. But he told his audience that without proving the rumors to be true, they should “Don’t let the cry babies in the media sway you, fellow countrymen. Keep the cat memories going.”
As rumours gained steam in conservative online spacesBlood Tribe planned real-world actions.
On August 10, members of the Blood Tribe, wearing masks and carrying swastika-emblazoned banners, marched through downtown Springfield, calling it the “Anti-Haitian Immigration March.” On Facebook, Mayor Rob Rue said: “An attempt was made to disrupt our community by an outside hate group. Nothing happened except that they did not express their First Amendment rights.
Blood Tribe’s Gab account pushed back and invited its followers to harass the mayor. “Hello, Springfield Ohio! We heard that you really have a problem with Haitian “refugees”.
On Aug. 27, Drake Berentz, the only Blood Tribe member other than Pohlhaus to show his face, stood before the Springfield City Commission. Berentz, who identified himself online by his moniker, offered a “word of caution” before his microphone was cut for threatening the commission. He was escorted out by the police.
Springfield isn’t the Blood Tribe’s first target, and it won’t be its last Jeff Tischuseris a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. Blood Tribe and other hate groups have used real-world actions for recruitment, attention and intimidation.
Last year, members of the armed Blood Tribe rallied at drag events Columbus and WadsworthOhio chants Nazi slogans and waves Nazi salutes. They marched in the pride event Watertown, Wisconsin ; and in the capitol Madisonand they shouted “Heil Hitler”. Beyond Disney World. This year, they protested in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, abandoning LGBTQ issues for immigration; Nashville, Tennessee; Pierre, South Dakota; and Springfield.
“They aim to create fear of their ideas among local communities that they see as potential friends,” Tischuser said. “Goal No. 1 is psychological trauma, keeping people out of public life that they disagree with. Group #2 is creating these viral moments to get attention on Gab and Telegram.
The Blood Tribe, like other white nationalist groups, seeks to normalize extremist ideas and symbols, Tischuser said. With Trump and the broader conservative reception of the Haitian pet-eating rumor, Springfield has been a success for hate groups.
“The GOP is falling into their trap,” Tischuser said. “Groups like Blood Tribe really see themselves as pushing the GOP further on their policy positions and rhetoric.”
The danger of such widespread extremist views was on display Thursday in Springfield. Blood Tribe used its Gab account to insult Springfield residents and government officials who spoke out against the latest rumors. Municipality had to close On Thursday, several government agencies received bomb threats.