JD Vance falsely accuses immigrants of abducting and eating pets

SEATTLE - Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance made on Monday a series of false claims related to Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. The city's police department has denied any such incidents have taken place.

The Republican Sen. from Ohio published a video on his X social media account of him at a July Senate Banking Committee hearing, reading a letter from Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck detailing the city's challenges in keeping up with housing for a growing population of Haitian immigrants.

In the post, Vance made a reference to a now-debunked rumor that circulated social media, which said that Haitian migrants were abducting pets and eating them.

"Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio. Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country. Where is our border czar?" he wrote on X.

Other Republican figures such as Ted Cruz have also used their social media accounts to spread the rumor.

As reported by The Springfield News-Sun on Sept. 9, police have "received no reports related to pets being stolen and eaten," contrary to Vance's claims.

The rumor appears to have originated at an Aug. 27 Springfield City Commission meeting, in which local resident Anthony Harris alleged, among other things, that Haitian immigrants were killing park ducks for food.

The rumor also spread on local crime-watch Facebook groups, where a member claimed that the neighbor's daughter's friend had lost her cat and found it hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor's home being carved up to be eaten.

The Springfield News-Sun reported that these viral posts had erroneously linked the city to an incident last month in Canton, Ohio, in which a woman was arrested and charged with cruelty to companion animals for allegedly killing and eating a cat.

In recent months, the city of Springfield has seen a large number of migrants from Haiti coming in. According to estimates from a New York Times report, some 20,000 Haitians have arrived in the city under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, leaving their home country due to ongoing violence.

But Heck said false allegations against immigrants were distracting Republican leaders from the real issues faced by the city. In an email to The Hill, Springfield's City Manager said that the issue "clearly takes away from the letter's point that we are struggling with housing, resources for our schools, and an overwhelmed healthcare system."

In addition, Heck said that there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities, including those claims of pets being harmed, nor squatting or littering in front of residents' homes.