JD Vance repeats baseless claim Haitian immigrants are eating pets as Ohio officials say there is no evidence

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JD Vance repeats baseless claim Haitian immigrants are eating pets as Ohio officials say there is no evidence

Officials in Springfield, Ohio, said Monday they have not received any credible reports of Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets, despite viral claims on social media that have been

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by *********** vice presidential nominee JD Vance and others. 

References to the claim, which allege Haitian migrants have been eating cats, as well as ducks and geese, have garnered millions of views on X, with Vance’s X post racking up 4 million views alone, as of Monday evening. Vance, the *********** senator for Ohio, 

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he had previously raised the issue of Haitian immigrants “causing chaos all over Springfield,” adding, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

The

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, Sen.

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and

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, the owner of X, also posted about the claim on Monday. Cruz, a Texas ***********, posted a

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on X showing two cats holding each other, with text that reads “Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.” 

But the city’s spokesperson told CBS News there have been “no credible reports or specific claims” of pets being harmed by migrants. 

“In response to recent rumors alleging ********* activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” said Karen Graves, strategic engagement manager for Springfield.

The claim

While it’s not possible to say where the claim originated, the Springfield News-Sun

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that it may be linked to a viral post in a Springfield

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group. 

In the

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post, a person says a neighbor’s daughter’s friend lost her cat and later found it hanging from a branch near a Haitian neighbor’s house, according to the Springfield News-Sun. Screenshots of the post have been circulating on X and other platforms, racking up thousands of likes and views. 

The post appears to be in a private

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group; CBS News has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the post. 

Some social media users shared body camera footage of an unrelated incident in which an Ohio woman was accused of ******** and eating a cat in Canton, a city more than 170 miles away from Springfield. Public records indicate the woman in the footage, Allexis Telia Ferrell, is not a migrant and has lived in Ohio for at least 18 years. 

Social media users are also sharing AI images in connection with the claim about Haitian migrants. One AI-created

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shows Trump holding a cat in each arm, running through a crowd of ****** people. The caption reads: “The kittens of Springfield have only one hope.” 

Springfield, a city of just under

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people, has seen a large increase in migrants arriving in the last several years. 

There are an estimated

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migrants in Ohio’s Clark County, with

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coming from Haiti, according to local officials. The Springfield-based

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was established in 2023 to help assist migrants, especially Haitains, arriving in Clark County. 

In addition to dispelling rumors about harm to pets, the city’s spokesperson said there were no confirmed instances of migrants squatting, littering or deliberately disrupting traffic. 

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Layla Ferris

Layla Ferris is a verification producer with CBS News Confirmed. She previously worked at ABC News and Storyful. She specializes in breaking news coverage, visual verification and open-source research.

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#Vance #repeats #baseless #claim #Haitian #immigrants #eating #pets #Ohio #officials #evidence

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