SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – A backyard conversation between neighbors followed by an erroneous social media post has sparked a nationwide media storm over Haitian immigrants killing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio . The media outburst made the two women fear for their safety.
Erika Lee and Kimberly Newton live side-by-side in what Ms. Newton describes as a “usually quiet and peaceful” neighborhood in this blue-collar city, located halfway between the southeastern cities of Dayton and Columbus. Western Ohio State.
Springfield was once a booming industrial community before many factories closed in recent decades and its population began to decline, reaching just under 60,000 residents in 2020. However, over the past four years, the influx of Haitian immigrants increased the city’s population.
Estimates are that between 15,000 and 30,000 Haitians arrived in Springfield during this period, and buses are reportedly dropping off new immigrants every day.
Earlier this month, after talking to her neighbor Kimberly Newton, Erika Lee wrote a now-deleted Facebook post that was first posted in a private Springfield Facebook group called “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information.” and information from Springfield, Ohio).
“My neighbor [Kimberly Newton] informed me that her daughter’s friend had lost her cat. One day she came home from work, [et] When she got out of her car, she looked toward a neighbor’s house, where Haitians live, and saw her cat hanging from a branch, like one would a deer before skinning it, and they were cutting it up to eat it. »
The case gained momentum when Ms. Lee’s message was screenshotted and posted on X on September 5, where many conservative-leaning accounts shared it.
“I didn’t think that [mon message] would go beyond the boundaries of Springfield,” Ms. Lee told NBC News.
Before the September 10 presidential debate, the Haitian immigrant crisis in Springfield was primarily confined to the city and Clark County.
At a city council meeting held on August 27, some residents claimed that Haitians were killing cats, dogs, ducks and geese for food.
Before the debate, Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, said his office had been inundated with the allegations.
Mr. Vance wrote on X that “reports now show people have had their pets kidnapped and eaten by people who should not be in this country.”
At the start of the presidential debate, Donald Trump called attention to this problem by declaring: “In Springfield, they eat the dogs. The people who came here eat the cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there. »
Mr. Trump’s comments propelled Springfield, along with Erika Lee’s Facebook post, onto the national stage.
City Mayor Rob Rue, the Springfield Police Department and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, along with other city and state officials, have dismissed the allegations as false. .
Karen Graves, Springfield’s strategic engagement manager, told Epoch Times on September 10 that “there have been no credible reports or specific allegations of pets being harmed or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”
A police report obtained by government watchdog group Judicial Watch shows at least one resident called to report neighbors who allegedly stole and cut up their cat.
Springfield resident Lisa Hayes waits in line to attend Vivek Ramaswamy’s town hall meeting on the influx of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, September 19, 2024. (Jeff Louderback/Epoch Times)
On September 11, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wrote in a post on X: “There is a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese to eat in Springfield. »
He also noted that citizens had testified before the city council about incidents in which Haitian immigrants killed geese.
“These people would be competent witnesses in court. Why do the media consider a carefully crafted press release from city hall to be better evidence? »wrote Mr. Yost.
Amid widespread attention over allegations that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating domestic and wild animals, Lee apologized for the Facebook post in an interview with NBC News.
She admitted that she had not seen the cats with her own eyes and had based it on what Mrs. Newton had told her.
“I’m not racist,” Ms. Lee said, noting that her daughter is half-black and mixed race.
“Everyone seems to be making this a racist thing, and that wasn’t my intention. »
“The situation simply took a turn that I had not anticipated. »
Ms. Lee declined an interview request fromEpoch Timesbut Ms. Newton sat down for a discussion that she hopes will “provide some clarity” because she “didn’t say what [Mme Lee] wrote” in the Facebook post.
“It was a five to ten minute conversation. All I said was, ‘Hey, I heard some things, maybe you should watch out for your cats because they come and go, there’s a house in the neighborhood with Haitians, and there have been reports of residents at city council meetings saying pets are missing,'” Ms. Newton told Epoch Times.
“I didn’t tell him about the cat hanging from the tree, cut up like a deer. I didn’t tell him that. These are not my words. »
The missing cat’s owner was “an acquaintance of a friend” and not her daughter’s friend, Ms Newton said.
Mark Sanders, a retired Honda automotive engineer, is a strong advocate for Springfield residents.
He told Epoch Times that earlier this year he had been contacted by several utility workers employed by the city of Springfield.
“They were replacing water meters in houses and told me that in several houses occupied by Haitian migrants, there were dead geese, ducks and cats hanging from the pipes. I promised them I would keep their names anonymous because they were afraid of losing their jobs,” Mr. Sanders said.
At a Springfield City Council meeting last March, Mr. Sanders spoke about these testimonies.
On August 27, Springfield resident Anthony Harris told city council members, “These Haitians are rushing over the trash. They rush towards the buildings. They’re flipping cars in the middle of the street, and I don’t know how you can be comfortable with that. »
“They are in the park, grabbing ducks by the neck, cutting off their heads and eating them. »
“There are all these reports, and Bryan Heck [le directeur de la ville de Springfield] even said during one of the meetings that he too had heard stories like this. »
“I don’t understand why the publication of our conversation provoked so many threatening reactions. What I said is something we’ve been talking about for months. »
The city of Springfield did not respond to requests for comment fromEpoch Timesbut officials at press conferences continue to deny that Haitian immigrants kill and eat pets and wild animals.
A case of mistaken identity compounded the consequences of the social media post, Ms Newton said.
Some media outlets used her photo with Ms. Lee’s name.
“I was called racist. I’m afraid to go out into the community. I changed my hair color because I don’t want to be recognized when I go out,” Ms Newton said.
“Someone called my employer to have me fired. Fortunately, my employer is my best friend and she knows the person I am. »
Although public figures such as Trump and Vance, as well as residents of Springfield, have been called racists for claiming that Haitian immigrants were killing and eating pets and wild animals, a Haitian pastor and media personality social worker, who lives in neighboring Pennsylvania, said in a video YouTube that there was an explanation why these claims could be true.
James Desvallons, who describes himself as Haitian by birth and American by naturalization, explains that voodoo is part of Haitian culture.
“In Voodoo worship, sacrifices are required for their gods, and these sacrifices must be eaten because it is through eating these sacrifices that they receive power, supposedly, from their gods,” Mr. Desvallons said .
Desvallons said it was not common for Haitians to eat animals and most wanted nothing to do with voodoo, but those who practice the religion usually use chickens and turkeys. as animal sacrifices.
“It’s really very normal. But if it’s not possible to get a live turkey or chicken in the United States, what’s the closest thing a Haitian will get? »
“The closest thing is duck or goose, or if they can’t have them, cats and dogs might be an option as well. »
“I can tell you that there are priests and followers of voodoo in Haiti. They need to make sacrifices. This is probably why cats and dogs are disappearing. »
“People are testifying and I don’t think we should deny their words. I don’t think people who say this are lying. I think these people know what they’re talking about because they’re going through this experience and they have reason to feel the way they feel. »
Kimberly Newton told Epoch Times that she hoped the focus would shift away from her Facebook post and instead toward finding solutions to the driving, housing, health care and safety issues in Springfield, a context where the Haitian population continues to increase.
“Our city and state leaders have allowed [l’immigration illégale] takes place. We [les habitants] we didn’t have a say. There hasn’t been adequate planning for any of this,” Ms Newton said.
“I never said what I said out of hatred. What I said was out of conscience and caution, and there is nothing wrong with being conscious and cautious.”
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