Officials in Springfield, Ohio, have pushed back on a racist rumor amplified by the Trump campaign that Haitian residents are eating people’s pets, as the baseless claims have prompted bomb threats against city buildings and terrified local residents.
“Unfortunately right now, we have to focus on making sure this rhetoric is dispelled, that these rumors are just, they’re just not true. Springfield is a beautiful place, and your pets are safe in Springfield,” Springfield mayor Rob Rue told CNN.
Springfield’s police and city manager, as well as the Ohio governor, have all affirmed that claims of Haitians eating pets are without evidence.
Still, despite the wave of condemnation from Ohio officials, the rumor has taken on a life of its own in Springfield, where a bomb threat on Thursday forced the evacuation of city hall and two schools.
Local officials said the threat explicitly “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community.”
“Springfield is a community that needs help,” Mayor Rue told The Washington Post, instead of leaders that “hurt a community like, unfortunately, we have seen over the last couple of days.”
The FBI is investigating the bomb threat.
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby warned earlier this week the conspiracy could cause violence.
“This kind of language, this kind of disinformation, is, is dangerous because there will be people that believe it no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is, and they might act on that kind of information and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt,” he said, adding, “It needs to stop.”
The Trump campaign denied any links to the threats.
“To this day, if anyone dares to suggest that unhinged rhetoric from Democrats like Kamala Harris and Joe Biden may have influenced a psychopath to attempt to assassinate President Trump, the left wing media melts down – it’s laughable these same media outlets are now attempting to tie this threat to the GOP ticket,” the Trump campaign said in a statement to The Independent. “President Trump and Senator Vance condemn these threats and believe those responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Residents of Springfield’s large Haitian community, which has expanded in recent years due to the federal Temporary Protected Status immigrant program, say they’re fearing for their safety after Trump, JD Vance, and other top Republicans have parroted the conspiracy, including during the former president’s debate with Kamala Harris earlier this week.
Viles Dorsainvil, president of Springfield’s nonprofit Haitian Community Help and Support Center told NBC News on Wednesday people are “scared for their lives.”
Other Haitians in the area have reported keeping their kids home from school and suffering acts of vandalism, according to the Haitian Times.
The impact of the conspiracy may be very real, but its roots are based on Internet-fueled hate and speculation.
The claims first took off when a member of a local Springfield Facebook group posted claims about Haitian immigrants she admits she heard it fourthhand—from a neighbor who heard it from a friend who heard it from their daughter.
Another element came from a photo taken in July, of a man in Columbus, not Springfield, Ohio, holding a dead goose. The individual who took the photo says he regrets the image has been used to demonize migrants.
“I wish I never took it, for sure. And I hate that the picture that I took is being weaponized to use against immigrants, or really, any other group. They always have to have somebody to use as a weapon. Some group to be the bad guy,” he told the Columbus Dispatch.
The conspiracy was further amplified when a local neo-Nazi group, Blood Tribe, amplified claims about Haitians on social media, in posts that were picked up by mainstream commentators and link aggregators, before they reached elected Republicans.