The racist hoax that Haitian immigrants eat cats appears to have had tangible consequences in Springfield, Ohio, as elementary schools were forced to evacuate Friday, a day after the city evacuated its city hall following bomb threats. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, continues to stoke hatred against Haitian immigrants.
Trump and Vance have been promoting a false rumor that Haitians in Ohio are stealing and eating neighborhood animals, a lie Trump told tens of millions of Americans during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday.
Two public elementary schools in Springfield were evacuated and a public middle school was closed Friday after a warning from the Springfield Police Department. Clark State College also closed buildings in Springfield on Thursday and Friday. A local Catholic school let students out early Friday, citing “security threats in the vicinity” in a Facebook post.
A bomb threat Thursday prompted several buildings to be locked down, including the city hall, the Department of Motor Vehicles and two elementary schools. Bomb-sniffing dogs searched the facilities, and the FBI is working with local police to find the source of the threat.
City authorities said they had not seen any evidence of Haitian immigrants killing or eating pets.
Vance admitted earlier this week that the allegations were just “rumors,” but encouraged his followers to continue posting memes about immigrants eating pets.
“In Springfield, Ohio, there has been a massive spike in infectious diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime. This is what happens when you put 20,000 people in a small community,” Vance posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday, referring to Haitian immigrants who have come to Springfield since the pandemic.
“Don’t let biased media outlets shame you into not discussing this slow-moving humanitarian crisis in a small town in Ohio,” he added. “We must address this crisis with transparency.” [sic] “I talk about this every day. Kamala Harris did this. She will continue to do this unless we stop her,” he wrote.
Trump embraced this lie during Tuesday's presidential debate. “In Springfield, they eat the dogs. The people that come here eat the cats, they eat, they eat the pets that people live in,” Trump said.
Trump repeated the false claim during a campaign rally on Thursday. “There’s a place called Springfield, Ohio, you’ve been reading about,” he said. “Twenty thousand illegal Haitian immigrants invaded a town of 58,000 people and destroyed their entire way of life. It was a beautiful community and now it’s a horrible thing to happen.”
But the Haitians living in Springfield are not there illegally.
In 2016, before he turned to the Make America Great Again movement, Vance criticized Trump's attitude toward immigrants. “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc.,” he said. “And she wrote: ‘That’s why I find him to be blameworthy. God wants the best from us.’”
Haitian immigrants aren't creating chaos, but conservatives certainly are.
