A city official in Springfield, Ohio had admitted that cats, dogs, and other domestic pets are being eaten by Haitian migrants.
Freshly uncovered footage from March shows a Springfield City Manager raising the alarm about reports of Haitian migrants eating pets.
It confounds claims by the media that the whole issue is a baseless online conspiracy theory.
When Donald Trump claimed during last week’s presidential debate that Haitian migrants were eating dogs and cats, he was swiftly fact-checked by ABC moderator David Muir.
“I just want to clarify here, you bring up Springfield, Ohio,” said Muir.
“And ABC News did reach out to the city manager there.
“He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
Except, that doesn’t appear to be true.
WATCH:
Now we have the Springfield City Manager acknowledging on video that they’ve heard of complaints of domestic animals being eaten back in March.
We also have a call report showing this.
Why would they lie about there not being complaints?
Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/ejktkvxIRo
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) September 17, 2024
Video footage from a Springfield City Commission Meeting that took place on March 12, 2024 shows a concerned resident raising the subject.
The man suggests that life in Springfield is “180 degrees different to what they’re used to,” suggesting he is talking about recently arrived Haitian migrants.
“And one of the things that I heard that bothered me very much and I’ve actually had quite a few people contact me here lately is some pretty horrible things happening to domesticated animals in the neighborhood,” he states.
“We’ve had some stuff in the park and again they’re being taken advantage of for reasons other than…”
At this point, Springfield City Manager Brian Heck appears to express doubt, stating:
“You asked me if there was proof, we just don’t have proof.”
“People who have confided in me have asked me for anonymity, I can’t give their names up,” responds the resident.
“I mean we haven’t seen the proof that you’re talking about, and I have heard about it,” says Heck.
This contradicts to some extent what Heck said last week, when he released a public statement asserting the reports were false.
“It is disappointing that some of the narrative surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly charged election cycle,” said Heck in the statement.
Meanwhile, another police report has emerged which shows a Springfield resident complaining about their pet cat being stolen and cut up.
It seems as though the whole controversy may not just be an “online conspiracy theory” after all.
