Former President Donald Trump repeated a false viral claim that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, “are eating the pets of the people that live there,” during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, despite local police saying there have been “no credible reports” of immigrants harming or abusing pets.
Trump speaks at the debate. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The claim, which has also been spread by Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, appeared to originate from a user on a Springfield, Ohio, group page on Facebook claiming their neighbor’s daughter’s friend found her cat hung and carved from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home—though the post’s claim had no first-hand backing.
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