Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Wednesday helped spread a conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants legally residing in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing and eating pets, ducks and geese.
The conspiracy was overthrown by Springfield mayor, city manager AND Chief of Policeas well as by Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWineYost aims to succeed DeWine as governor in 2026.
“Citizens testified before City Council” – Yost published on Wednesday X“These people would be competent witnesses in court. Why does the media consider a carefully worded press release from City Hall to be better evidence?”
Many public buildings in Springfield were closed for most of Thursday. due to bomb threats after former President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated a widely debunked conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants stealing pets and eating them.
“They eat dogs. They eat cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there.“- he said during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The day before, on Monday, Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, published on X This “There have been reports of pets being kidnapped and eaten by people who should not be in the country.
As The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported ThursdayBetween 15,000 and 20,000 Haitians have immigrated to Springfield in the past five years. Contrary to Vance’s claims, the enormous majority of them are legally in the United States, either as naturalized citizens or under transient protected status because violent chaos in their home country.
While resources in the city of nearly 60,000 have been strained by the mass influx, the New York Times reported last week that many residents feel revitalized the community which has been in crisis for a long time.
But Trump and his supporters have long stoked fears about immigrants, especially those of color, even though numerous studies show that immigrants, especially undocumented ones, commit crimes at a much lower rate than people born in a given country.
The influx of thousands of immigrants has already brought hate groups to Springfield, a group of neo-Nazis marching there in August.
Some Springfield residents pleaded with politicians to stop promoting conspiracy theories about their community. And some Haitian immigrants keep their children at home, Concerns about your safetyAs reported by the Haitian Times on Thursday.
But last week, Yost’s campaign claimed that illegal immigrants are “terrorizing” Ohio communities. As evidence, he pointed to Fox News Article about the situation in Springfield where no such claim was made.
Still, Yost continued to make accusations against Haitians in Springfield on Wednesday.
“There is a recorded police report from a witness who saw immigrants catching geese for food in Springfield, Yost said. he said in his post X“Citizens testified before the City Council. These people would be competent witnesses in court. Why does the media consider a carefully worded press release from City Hall to be better evidence?”
In other words, Yost, a former journalist, was criticizing the media for not giving the same credence to any statement made during a police interview or council meeting that it gives to the public statements of Springfield’s mayor, city manager, police chief and Ohio governor.
Yost campaign spokeswoman Amy Natoce was asked how the attorney general could make such a case and whether he was concerned that his tweet would further inflame racial sentiment and make him a target for attacks by minorities in the United States.
She replied that Yost uses official sources to answer these questions.
“As the Attorney General’s staff prepares a legal memo on the matter, I will ask you to contact your official office regarding your inquiries,” she said.
The AG Communications Director did not answer the same questions directly. Instead, she discussed the problems related to the influx.
“This is what Springfield residents are reporting,” she said in an email. “Believe it or not. But the indisputable fact is that the massive influx of immigrants is overwhelming city services and schools. And the federal government is doing nothing to help. Attorney General Yost is interested in finding a way to help Springfield and other communities by holding the federal government accountable.”
Anti-immigration rhetoric linked to mass violence. Experts say stoking fears of an “immigrant invasion” and “terror” and conspiracy theories about a “great replacement” have helped motivate racist massacres over the past six years Pass, Buffalo, AND Pittsburgh.
