Erika Lee is one of the people who posted a hoax on Facebook about a cat disappearing in Springfield, Ohio, supposedly stolen by Haitian immigrants. Lee has since deleted it and says she regrets having written it, but the hoax is now out of her control: former President Donald Trump used it in an election debate, his running mate continues to say it is true, and meanwhile, in Springfield, threats against Haitians who have emigrated to that town are increasing.
From immigrants who (don’t) eat cats to falling into Kamala Harris’ traps: a debate from which Donald Trump emerges bruised
“It blew up and turned into something I didn’t intend to happen,” Lee told the American network NBC NewsLee did not intend for a Facebook comment to trigger Trump’s comment about immigrants stealing Springfield’s pets to eat them, or to use the viral effect of another of the images that underpins the Republican campaign’s latest lie. Another version of the hoax shows a man with a dead goose.but several American media have verified that it is not possible to know if it is a Haitian immigrant nor was the photo taken in Springfield, but in another city, Columbus.
The result, less than a week later, is that several schools and buildings in the town have been closed due to bomb threats, including City Hall, and Wittenberg College in Springfield has had to take “extreme precautions.” The college announced that on Saturday it received an email threatening a possible shooting on campus the next day. The message was “directed at Haitian members” of the community, According to the institution.
Another local campus received the same threat, and both incidents are being investigated by Wittenberg police, Springfield police and the FBI. The threats have prompted all students, faculty and staff to “use extreme caution and be alert to their surroundings.” Additionally, all weekend activities and sporting events have been canceled.
“University administrators acknowledge that the City of Springfield has experienced an increase in threats to local government, businesses and schools over the past week,” the statement concluded.
Earlier this Sunday, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance told CNN that the claims about Haitian migrants are based on what his constituents tell him they are experiencing “firsthand.” He also said he has evidence that “immigrants are catching geese from the local park pond and eating them.”
“If I have to create stories to get the American media to pay attention to the suffering of citizens, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance told journalist Dana Bash. The Republican candidate has thus justified his continued spreading lies — such as that of mothers who have lost their children “because Kamala Harris let criminal immigrants into this country who then murdered their children” — to get the media to talk about the Democrats’ policies.
Police deny the Republican candidates’ version
Contrary to Vance’s version is that of the local police. “In response to recent rumors that there are criminal activities by the immigrant population in our locality, we want to clarify that there have been no credible cases or reports of damage to pets, injuries or abuse by individuals from the immigrant community,” said a statement cited by Reuters.
Police have also clarified that another video circulating on social media showing the arrest of a woman accused of killing and eating a cat was from an arrest in Canton, Ohio, and that the detainee is not an immigrant “but a lifelong local resident.”
Asked about the threats facing the population of Springfield, Vance said that what is putting residents at risk is that they cannot afford housing and that hospitals are overwhelmed “because Kamala Harris allowed 20,000 Haitian immigrants to be brought to a small town in Ohio.”
Located in southwestern Ohio and with about 60,000 inhabitants, Springfield has seen in recent years the arrival of about 10,000 Haitians who have settled there in search of work. Trump has declared that if he is elected president, his plan to carry out the “largest deportation (of immigrants) in the history of the country” will begin in Springfield (Ohio) with destination Venezuela.
Biden denounces attacks on Haitian community
US President Joe Biden on Friday denounced threats against the Haitian community across the country since Trump reiterated these lies during the electoral debate with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. “The Haitian American community is under attack in our country right now. It is wrong. There is no place (for that) in the United States. What he is doing has to stop, it has to stop!” Biden declared.
The Democratic leader thus rejected the lies and threats without mentioning Trump at the start of an event at the White House intended to commemorate the excellence of the African-American community in the country. His speech was preceded by that of the presidential spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, of Haitian origin.
Harris has previously reiterated the need to “support and protect” Haitian immigrants living in the country. In 2021, the US expanded protections to some 150,000 Haitian refugees with an extension of the program that prevents their deportation and extends their work permits if it is deemed that they cannot safely return to their country of origin.
