A Springfield, Ohio, woman who sparked rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets says she is filled with regret and insists she never intended to attack the Haitian community.
Erika Lee, 35, spoke out after warning locals on a Facebook group that her “neighbour informed me that her daughter’s friend lost her cat”, only to find the pet hanging “from a branch” outside a Haitian family’s home.
But Lee now admits he had no first-hand knowledge of the claims, and the neighbour mentioned in the post, Kimberly Newton, revealed she also heard the story from an acquaintance and not from her daughter.
But before the confusing back-and-forth could be resolved (police also insisted that no reports of pets being eaten had been filed), the rumor went viral.
“It just blew up and turned into something I didn’t want to happen,” Erika Lee said. NBC News – after the wild conspiracy even made its way into Donald Trump’s presidential debate material.
Pictured: Springfield, Ohio, where rumors have spread about immigrants eating cats and dogs.
Erika Lee, 35, admitted she heard the rumour that Haitian immigrants were eating cats in her town from her neighbour Kimberly Newton (pictured), who heard it from a friend, who heard it from the alleged cat herself.
Lee’s Facebook post sparked panic on social media after screenshots circulated on X, warning that Haitian migrants were hanging cats “from a branch like they would a deer to kill it, and they were cutting it up to eat.”
“I’ve been told they’re doing this with the dogs, they’ve been doing it in Snyder Park with the ducks and geese,” he continued, claiming that “rangers and police told them that last bit.”
“Please keep a close eye on these animals,” the post concluded.
The post caught the attention of conservatives, with many also seizing on footage of an American woman allegedly stomping on a cat’s head before eating it in a crazy video that was falsely attributed to the Haitian immigrant community.
Lee now says he never expected his post to “get past Springfield” and has since deleted it because he didn’t anticipate it would spark a national buzz.
Conservatives also seized on footage of an American woman allegedly stomping on a cat’s head before eating it in a wild video that was falsely attributed to the Haitian immigrant community.
Lee admitted for the first time Newscast who heard a rumor that Haitian immigrants were eating cats in her town from her neighbor Kimberly Newton, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from the cat’s alleged owner.
When asked, Newton said she was “not sure I was the most credible source.”
“I don’t know the person who lost the cat,” he told NewsGuard, a company that fights disinformation. “I don’t have any proof.”
She said the cat’s owner was “an acquaintance of a friend.” Newton originally learned of what had happened from her friend, who had heard about it from a “source she had” before telling Lee, who then made the matter public.
Newton also clarified that his source was not his daughter, as Lee claimed.
The city of Springfield, Ohio (pictured) has become a flashpoint in the presidential race, with the unfounded rumor even reaching the hands of JD Vance and Donald Trump.
Although city officials said they had no evidence that Springfield’s pets were in danger, locals say it’s a problem online.
“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,” Springfield officials said.
Although Ohio authorities stressed that there were no reports they could even investigate, the rumor circulated widely enough that the two men at the top of the Republican ticket echoed it.
JD Vance mentioned the rumor on his X account, writing: ‘Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos throughout Springfield, Ohio. Reports show that there are people who have had their pets kidnapped and eaten by people who should not be in this country. Where is our border czar?’
A day later, Trump reiterated similar statements during the debate, which was broadcast to 67 million Americans.
The post reached national heights and even made it to the debate stage, where Republican candidate Donald Trump (pictured during the debate) claimed the rumor was true, despite moderators saying officials had found no evidence. The debate was broadcast to 67 million people.
Lee was “shocked” to see that what she shared on Facebook ended up in the hands of the former president.
“I was actually stunned,” she told NewsGuard. “I didn’t think something like that could make it to the presidency.”
Despite her 15 minutes of fame, she says she “hasn’t really been following the news much about it.”
“I’ve only seen it on Facebook, either in my news feed or in what other people have shared about things they’ve read,” she said.
He also reiterated that all he was trying to do was inform people and was not saying that Haitians in general are bad.
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