Newly released emails show how Trump’s ‘animal-eating’ conspiracy theory led to a flurry of threats

To date, no evidence has emerged to support the viral claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating their neighbors’ pets. That doesn’t stop racist red pill idiots from using the debunked claim to harass, threaten, or otherwise make life miserable for the people of Springfield, especially local elected officials. Now newly released emails show the extent to which these digital rumors have wreaked havoc on the local community.

404 Media recently obtained a trove of emails from the local government of Springfield through a Freedom of Information Act request. The emails, including those sent to and by government officials immediately before and after the presidential debate (when Trump presented the conspiracy theory on live television), reveal a community plagued by vitriol and hate.

The viral rumor appeared on social media in September and was picked up shortly thereafter by J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate. In a post on X that was intended as a snub to Trump opponent Kamala Harris, Vance wrote: “Reports now show that people who shouldn’t be in this country have kidnapped and eaten pets. Where is our border czar?” Shortly thereafter, Trump made the problem much worse by announcing this theory during the presidential debate between himself and Harris. “In Springfield, they eat the dogs and the people who come,” Trump gushed, sounding a bit like a madman on a street corner. “They eat cats. They eat the animals of the people who live there!”

The 404 Media email cache contains tons of emails sent to Springfield government officials by angry people who believed lies about the local Haitian population. One depraved asshole said: “Since it’s obvious that you and the rest of the cowards on the city council are too afraid to deal with this invasion, the citizens will apparently have to do it themselves. The purchase of Belgian Malinois and Cane Corsos should increase dramatically with protection training. If the dog goes into the yard and there are invaders there, well, I think it’s time for lunch.

Another person said: “Immigrants are harassing your citizens, going to parks, taking and killing animals, taking people’s pets, skinning them and eating them in public places, overturning cars, taking over yards, etc. Why on earth didn’t you call the National Guard ?

One email, addressed specifically to Springfield’s city manager, was merely titled “You are a liar” and read: “You know your city is fucked up with this illegal invasion… stop hiding it.”

The 404 email cache shows that other organizations besides local authorities have also been targeted with threatening emails. A Catholic charity dedicated to helping the local Haitian immigrant population received the following letter: “You are as Catholic as Judas. You are human traffickers, serving Satan and wicked in high places. Apparently none of you thought to teach the Haitian cannibals you illegally placed in Springfield to refrain from hunting, killing and eating domestic animals. You are exposed. You all should be in jail.”

Trump’s team has made Kamala Harris’ alleged failures as an “immigration czar” one of the key tenets of its campaign. Given this context, Trump and Vance’s spreading of these baseless, fear-mongering rumors can clearly be read as a propaganda effort aimed at tarring the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies. The irony, of course, is that Trump and Vance, by expressing concern for the community of Springfield, Ohio, plagued by fictional dog eaters, apparently helped create a whirlwind of chaos and damage to the community.