Woman behind rumor that Haitian immigrants from Springfield ‘eat pets’ speaks out

Erika Lee, a woman from Springfield, Ohio, initially claimed on Facebook that Haitian immigrants were “eating pets,” causing a national stir in the small town. But now she admitted that she has no direct evidence to support this claim.

With the 2024 presidential election looming, with immigration a hot topic, city officials have repeatedly refuted these rumors. But the claims gained even more traction when former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, repeated them during Tuesday night's televised presidential debate.

“In Springfield, they're eating the dogs – the people who came here,” Trump claimed of Haitian immigrants. “They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people who live there, and that's what's happening in our country, and it's a disgrace.”

As Springfield authorities and community leaders attempted to dispel these allegations, tensions ran high and bomb threats occurred on Thursday and Friday, leading to the closure of schools and community buildings.

“It just exploded into something I didn't intend,” Lee told NBC News on Friday.

Lee said the incident left her feeling guilty and afraid because of the controversy it sparked. In her post, she detailed the disappearance of a neighbor's cat and also mentioned her neighbor's suspicions that her Haitian roommates were involved in the incident.

According to NewsGuard, an organization dedicated to combating online misinformation, Lee was one of the first to spread the unfounded rumor on social media, screenshots of which were widely shared. The neighbor, identified as Kimberly Newton, allegedly received the information about the alleged incident from a third party, according to NewsGuard's findings and NBC News.

Lee told NBC News she never imagined her post would become part of the national conversation while spreading conspiracy theories and hate.

“I'm not racist,” she said, adding that her daughter is half black and she herself is biracial and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. “Everyone seems to portray it that way, and that was not my intention.”

After half a century of economic decline, Springfield worked hard to reclaim its manufacturing industry. The plan worked, creating jobs that ultimately attracted immigrants. Within four years, city officials say between 15,000 and 20,000 Haitian migrants have moved to the city, which had a population of just under 60,000 in 2020.

They are in the country legally, according to the city of Springfield's immigration FAQ page, many under the Immigration Parole Program, which allows noncitizens to stay in the U.S. temporarily under certain conditions without meeting standard visa or immigration requirements.

Lee acknowledged that Springfield is struggling with problems sparked by the city's unexpected population growth. She noted that Springfield is unprepared to address challenges in housing, health care and other services created by the rapid influx of new Haitian immigrants over the past five years. But she did not anticipate that her Facebook post could spark national news coverage.

“I didn't think it would ever get beyond Springfield,” she told NBC News.

Lee also said that she took her daughter out of school out of concern for her child's safety as she was too focused on her family. In addition, she admits that she cares about the Haitian community and stresses that it was never her intention to demonize them.

“I feel for the Haitian community,” she said. “If I were in the Haitians' shoes, I would be terrified too. I would be terrified that someone would come after me because they think I would hurt something they hold dear, and that, like I said, is not what I was trying to do.”

Meanwhile, Trump's running mate and Senator JD Vance of Ohio argues that Haitian migrants are still illegal because their legality was only achieved “through the abuse of asylum law.”

But in an interview with NewsNation on Thursday, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said, “Under current federal policy, they are here legally and they are here and there is nothing that will kick them out immediately. As a community, we are trying to welcome them. I don't want to be too optimistic about that – there is a culture clash.”

Newsweek sent an email to the Trump team on Saturday morning seeking comment.

As part of his election campaign, Trump has been announcing mass deportations for months and has promised to deport millions of illegal immigrants with the help of the army and local police forces.

On Friday, after debunking rumors that Haitian immigrants eat pets, the former president promised that his mass deportation plan would begin in Springfield and Aurora, Colorado – two cities that have been at the center of the anti-immigration debate this week.

“We are going to see the largest deportation in the history of our country,” he said Friday afternoon. “And we will start with Springfield and Aurora.”

At a press conference in Los Angeles, Trump also reiterated the claim that Aurora had been taken over by a Venezuelan gang and promised to “send it back to Venezuela.”

“The people of Colorado … they have a governor there who is very weak, he doesn't know what to do,” he said.

In Aurora, there have actually been problems with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in apartment complexes, where members of the notorious group have moved in and caused problems for Venezuelan residents and others.

The city’s mayor, Mike Coffman, said Newsweek last Friday that the story had gotten out of control and that the gang was not responsible for residential properties. Police later identified members of the group known to them.

Update 09/14/24, 11:28 a.m. ET: The headline of this article has been updated.