Dayton Leaders Denounce New Immigrants ‘Eating Pets’ Claim Shared by JD Vance

Dayton, Ohio mayor and police chief condemn new allegations Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance Haitian immigrants were allegedly “eating pets” on Saturday.

One of the most memorable moments from Tuesday night’s presidential debate came when former President Donald TrumpThe Republican presidential candidate claimed that Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio, were “eating pets.”

“They eat dogs in Springfield — people who come in,” Trump said. “They eat cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there, and that’s what’s happening in our country, and it’s a disgrace.”

One of the discussion moderators said, ABC News’ David Muir quickly confirmed Trump’s claims, telling viewers that the organization had spoken to the Springfield city manager about the allegations, and that the manager told them “there are no credible reports of specific allegations of pets being harmed, injured or mistreated by individuals in the immigrant community.”

Since then, city officials have been debunked these rumors.

But on Saturday morning, Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, reposted a video on a site formerly called X. TwitterA video of conservative activist Christopher F. Rufo claiming that immigrants were barbecuing cats in Ohio.

Rufo’s post reads: “We discovered that immigrants in Ohio were, in fact, eating cats. With multiple witnesses and visual cross-referencing, we confirmed that African immigrants in Dayton, right next to Springfield, were barbecuing these cats last summer.”

“Kamala Harris and her supporters in the media should be ashamed of themselves. Another ‘debunked’ story that turned out to have merit,” Vance wrote in his repost.

Rufo’s X post links to a Substack blog post in which he writes that he found a social media post from August 2023 that featured a video of “what appeared to be two skinned cats on a blue barbecue grill.”

The caption on the social media post, dated August 2023, read: “Yooo Africans gone wild in Parkwood.” Rufo said he was referring to Parkwood Drive in Dayton, Ohio.

Democratic Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. issued a statement Saturday “definitively refuting” the claim that “Dayton’s immigrant and refugee community has anything to do with eating cats.”

“This claim is completely false and a dangerously irresponsible claim by politicians intent on creating division and fear. There are absolutely zero reports of this type of activity, and the spread of this type of misinformation undermines our status as a welcoming city,” the mayor wrote. “The City of Dayton stands with the immigrant and refugee community and we value all of their contributions to our city’s vibrant culture and economy.”

The Dayton Police Department also released a statement Saturday, saying the department “strongly rejects the dissemination of irresponsible information about our immigrant community on social media or other channels.”

“We stand with our immigrant community and there is no remotely evidence that any group, including our immigrant community, eats pets. It is heartbreaking to see politicians or other individuals use outlandish information to appeal to their constituents,” Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal wrote in the press release.

Newsweek I reached out to Vance’s office, Rufo, Dayton police and Mims Jr.’s office via email for comment Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, bomb threats were made in Springfield on Thursday and Friday. led to the closure of schools and municipal buildings. Republican Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said: Washington Post Thursday’s threat included “hate speech towards immigrants and Haitians in our community.”

“Pets are safe in our community and it’s unfortunate that a story has been brought to the agenda that turns out to be untrue,” Rue told local station WSYX.

Where Did the ‘Eating Pets’ Claim Come From?

Springfield resident Erika Lee commented: Facebook A post claiming that local Haitian immigrants were “eating pets” leading to significant national attention for the small cityHer post included details about her neighbor’s missing cat and her neighbor’s suspicions that Haitian residents may have been involved in the incident.

He admits he has no direct evidence. He said that he supported such a claim and that the controversy the incident created caused him guilt and anxiety.

“Something I didn’t want exploded,” Lee said NBC Friday news.

In response to a question from NBC News Kristen Welker On Vance’s ‘baseless’ claims that Haitian immigrants eat pets Meet the Press On Sunday morning, the Ohio senator said: “Kristen, I hear you say these things are baseless, but I’m not repeating them because I made these things up out of thin air. I’m repeating them because my constituents are saying these things happened.”