In Springfield, Ohio, someone actually killed geese – but they weren't Haitian immigrants

False claims by Donald Trump and JD Vance that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio town ate people's cats and dogs and “went away with geese” dominated the run-up to the November election. Now it turns out that someone actually killed geese – and it wasn't a Haitian immigrant.

Brian Comer of Springfield was accused of shooting two geese on a golf course last month. This is according to Clark County Municipal Court records first reported by Texas-based investigative journalist Steven Monacelli. A witness told an officer before Comer's subpoena that he saw a “white male in his late fifties or early sixties” riding a lawn mower before getting out and shooting two geese with a shotgun, court records show.

According to court documents, Comer was “cooperative” and admitted to shooting the two geese. Comer told an Ohio Department of Natural Resources official that he believed he was authorized to shoot them because the golf course had a “nuisance permit.” An officer then issued him a citation.

He pleaded guilty at his arraignment on Sept. 18, Clark County records show.

Comer's subpoena came as Trump and Vance spread the false claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were stealing and eating residents' pets. Trump also claimed that “migrants are running away with geese in the city.”

“A recording of 911 calls shows residents reporting that the migrants are running away with the city's geese,” Trump said at a rally in Tuscon, Arizona, on Sept. 12, two days after authorities said Comer shot the geese.

“They take the geese,” he added. “Do you know where the geese are? In the park, in the lake. And they even leave with their pets.”

Shortly before Trump made this claim, a photo went viral online showing a man picking up two geese. The animals were hit by a car in Columbus, about 45 minutes from Springfield, the Ohio Division of Wildlife said at the time.

To collect a carcass, residents need documentation from a county sheriff or wildlife officer, the wildlife organization said at the time. However, according to the Franklin County Wildlife Office, this is not required for geese, meaning the person photographed had a right to them.

There is also no evidence that the person photographed is Haitian, an immigrant, or ever had any intention of eating the geese.

Trump also repeated the claim that Haitian immigrants eat pets during his Sept. 10 debate against Kamala Harris. Debate moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump and said the claim was baseless, but the former president doubled down on his statement.

Trump and Vance's claims have been repeatedly refuted by Springfield police, city officials and Ohio's Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. Local officials have also made it clear that Haitian immigrants who recently arrived in the city did so legally.

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck had even directly told a Vance employee on Sept. 9 that the pet-eating rumors were untrue when he called to verify. The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

“He asked point-blank, 'Are the rumors about pets being taken and eaten true?'” Heck said WSJ. “I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to prove this was true. I told them that these claims were unfounded.”

Vance shared the conspiracy theory with his 1.9 million followers

He then attempted to prove the claims by pointing to a resident's police report claiming her cat may have been stolen by her Haitian neighbors.

The cat, Miss Sassy, ​​had been hiding in the basement the whole time, said her owner Anna Kilgore WSJ. Kilgore apologized to her neighbors for the mixup using a translation app, she told the outlet.

A Vance spokesman previously said this The Independent The media is “ignoring” real concerns and “deliberately twisting Senator Vance’s words.”

“Senator Vance has received countless messages from Springfield residents about the disastrous impact of Kamala Harris’ immigration policies on their hometown: a lack of affordable housing, strained public resources, declining public safety and a rise in communicable diseases,” the spokesman wrote.

As the baseless conspiracy theory spread last month, Haitian residents reported fears for their safety.

James Fleurijean, a member of the Haiti Community Help & Support Center, told ABC News that parents are even afraid to send their children to school as the rhetoric spreads.

“I know some parents like to try to keep their kids home until they see how things are going and then wait a few weeks to see if things calm down. or if things escalate,” Fleurijean told the outlet last month. “See, that’s why, like some parents, they’re not even sending their kids to school this week.”

The Independent has reached out to Trump's spokesman and Comer for comment.