While saying that the U.S. was a failed state, Trump brought up the rumors, saying “In Springfield they’re eating the dogs; the people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating ... they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Springfield police have said despite social media claims on the topic, they have received no reports related to pets being stolen and eaten. The Republican leaders of Springfield and Clark County government have also said those claims are not true.
At the debate, one of the moderators pointed out the local denials, and Trump implied that maybe local leaders weren’t to be trusted, and that he had “seen people on television” say their dog was taken.
The social media post that started much of the national attention was a person claiming that their neighbor’s daughter’s friend had found their lost cat at a Haitian neighbor’s home being carved up to be eaten.
The post has been shared, viewed and commented on millions of times in the past several days, and it also claimed Haitians were killing ducks and geese at Snyder Park.
At the debate, Harris responded that these extreme claims that Trump repeated are the reason hundreds of Republicans are supporting her.
Clark County officials on Wednesday morning addressed a new issue tied to the ducks/geese angle. They said there had been one call to the dispatch center in the past 11 months claiming that Haitians were taking geese.
Sheriff’s Office leaders said that Aug. 26 call was referred to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which deals with wildlife issues. Clark County Commissioner Sasha Rittenhouse said Wednesday morning that ODNR was unable to find any merit to the claim.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and Clark County Commission President Melanie Flax Wilt called a press conference late Tuesday afternoon specifically to address misinformation and to draw focus to what they said were the real issues.
Rue said there are an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants living in Springfield now, and the community needs to focus on the strains to the school and health care systems, driver safety, and housing concerns. Rue also said Springfield needs funding now for more translation and interpretation services.
Rue said despite city research and fact-checking of wilder claims, some residents wave that off and continue posting misinformation about Haitians.
“Could you imagine being talked about like this, and the entire group, the country you’re from, you are being painted with this broad stroke, all of this rhetoric?” Rue said.
Flax Wilt said it is “not OK” for residents to harass their neighbors, or to bully them.
“I hear adults in our community saying the most hateful things, the very things we caution our children against,” she said. “… That’s not the community we want to be.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
At Tuesday night’s Springfield City Commission meeting, attendance hit the fire code limit for the room even before the pre-meeting work session began. A large crowd gathered on the plaza outside, with many people watching the livestream of the meeting on their phones, while others held signs.
In the meeting, Nathan Clark — the father of 11-year-old Aiden Clark, killed when a Haitian immigrant driver hit his school bus last year — pleaded with people to stop using his son to support their “hatred.”
Meanwhile, as has happened at numerous recent commission meetings, other residents shared frustration and concerns about the Haitian immigrant community, with one person saying, “things are going to get ugly” if Haitian immigrants continue coming to Springfield.
Vilès Dorsainvil, pastor and president of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, said a missing part of the story is that Haitians are hard workers, taking jobs that others may not want, and contribute to the community with their tax dollars.
“Some say that Haitians come here to steal jobs and public assistance from other communities, which is false,” Dorsainvil said. “We are here as some of [the] hardest, hard working person.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
