The Trump campaign falsely accuses immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating pets

By MIKE CATALINI, JULIE CARR SMYTH and BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign and his allies are amplifying false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, another instance of the inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric Trump has promoted throughout his campaigns.

There’s no evidence that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio community are doing that, officials say, but Trump’s campaign and vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance, along with other Republicans this week, repeated the claims.

Trump’s campaign, which has hit Vice President Kamala Harris for her leadership role in President Joe Biden’s administration on the U.S.-Mexico border, issued a press release Monday, the day before Tuesday’s presidential debate, suggesting “Kamala Migrants Ravage Ohio City.” Vance, Trump’s running mate, posted Tuesday that his office has “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets.

Vance acknowledged Tuesday it was possible “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims, even as Trump and his allies use them to amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants.

While president, Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept people from so-called “s—hole” countries like Haiti and places in Africa. His 2024 campaign has focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referencing in his speeches crimes committed by migrants. He argues immigrants are responsible for driving up crime and drug abuse in the United States and taking resources from American citizens.

Here’s a closer look at how the false claims have spread.

How did this get started?

On Sept. 6, a post surfaced on X that shared what looked like a screengrab of a social media post apparently out of Springfield, Ohio. The retweeted post talked about the person’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” seeing a cat hanging from a tree to be butchered and eaten, claiming without evidence that Haitians lived at the house. The accompanying photo showed a Black man carrying what appeared to be a Canada goose by its feet. That post continued to get shared on social media.

On Monday, Vance posted on X. “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 said. The next day, Vance posted again on X about Springfield, saying his office had received inquires from residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

Other Republicans shared similar posts. Among them was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who posted a photo of kittens with a caption that said to vote for Trump “So Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”