Lawler Urges GOP Colleagues To Restraint Over False Pet-Eating Rumors

UPDATE: U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R,C-17) issued his statement urging colleagues to show restraint over false rumors about Haitians in Ohio a day after fellow freshman Congressman Marc Molinaro in District 19 tweeted and retweeted the rumors.

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HUDSON VALLEY, NY — U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler is urging his fellow Republicans to "exercise great restraint when spreading unfounded theories," according to a statement regarding the claims being made and circulated about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

Springfield officials have said the claims are not true, according to the Associated Press.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, the AP reported. His comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans which attracted attention this week when Vance posted on social media that his office has “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets.

Vance acknowledged Tuesday it was possible “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

Lawler represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester counties, and which has a large population of Haitians.

"Congressman Lawler is proud to represent one of the largest Haitian-American diasporas in the country, and has worked tirelessly to address issues important to the Haitian community — including working to resolve the unstable situation in Haiti," said his spokesman Nate Soule. "Congressman Lawler has not seen independent verification of the wild claims that have been spread by some about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio. He encourages his colleagues to exercise great restraint when spreading unfounded theories and claims based off of posts on Facebook.”

The Associated Press took a closer look at how the false claims have spread:

How did this get started?

On Sept. 6, a post surfaced on X that shared what looked like a screengrab of a social media post apparently out of Springfield. The retweeted post talked about the person's “neighbor's daughter's friend” seeing a cat hanging from a tree to be butchered and eaten, claiming without evidence that Haitians lived at the house. The accompanying photo showed a Black man carrying what appeared to be a Canada goose by its feet. That post continued to get shared on social media.

On Monday, Vance posted on X. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” he said. The next day, Vance posted again on X about Springfield, saying his office had received inquires from residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

Other Republicans shared similar posts. Among them was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of kittens with a caption that said to vote for Trump “So Haitian immigrants don't eat us.”
Hours before Trump's debate with Harris, he posted two related photos on his social media site. One Truth Social post was a photo of Trump surrounded by cats and geese. Another featured armed cats wearing MAGA hats.

What do officials in Ohio say?

The office of the Springfield city manager, Bryan Heck, issued a statement knocking down the rumors.

“In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Heck's office said in an emailed statement.

Springfield police on Monday told the Springfield News-Sun that they had received no reports of stolen or eaten pets.

Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, held a news conference Tuesday to address the influx of Haitian immigrants to Springfield. He said he will send state troopers to Springfield to help local law enforcement deal with traffic issues and is earmarking $2.5 million over two years to provide more primary health care to immigrant families.

DeWine declined to address the allegations, deferring comment to local officials. But he repeatedly spoke in support of the people of Haiti, where his family has long operated a charity.

What do we know about a separate case 175 miles (281 km) away?

An entirely unrelated incident that occurred last month in Canton, Ohio, quickly and erroneously conflated into the discussion.

On Aug. 26, Canton police charged a 27-year-old woman with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct after she "did torture, kill, and eat a cat in a residential area in front (of) multiple people,” according to a police report.

But Allexis Ferrell is not Haitian. She was born in Ohio and graduated from Canton's McKinley High School in 2015, according to public records and newspaper reports. Court records show she has been in and out of trouble with the law since at least 2017. Messages seeking comment were not returned by several attorneys who have represented her. She is being held in Stark County jail pending a competency hearing next month, according to the prosecutor's office, the AP reported.