Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance has doubled down on false claims that immigrants are eating pets in an Ohio city, as city officials have repeatedly dismissed the rumours.
The baseless allegations have led to numerous security threats, and on Sunday Wittenberg University in Springfield said it had to cancel events due to threats against members of its Haitian community.
Appearing on Sunday’s talk shows, Vance defended the fake news, saying “the media ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes”.
“If I have to make a story to get the American media to pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he told CNN.
“It comes from first-hand accounts. I say we’re creating a story, which means we’re creating the American media and focusing on it.”
Vance is a US senator representing Ohio.
He first raised the animal cannibalism claims last week, before Trump escalated them in his first presidential debate against Kamala Harris.
Since then, Springfield city officials have again denied the allegations.
Mayor Rob Rue told the BBC that conspiracy theories – and Trump’s promise to “deport en masse” immigrants from Springfield – are hurting the city.
“People’s pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio,” Rue told the BBC’s Newshour programme. “We went to the JD Vance Campaign to let them know we have no proof what happened, and I’ve told you in multiple interviews that this is not true.”
“We need people to understand, especially those with a microphone that is heard around the world, they must understand the weight of their words and how they can affect communities.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, on ABC’s This Week called the rumors “garbage that wasn’t true”.
Springfield had to evacuate three schools and other city buildings last week because of the threats, at least one of which made derogatory remarks about Haitians.
Wittenberg University campus police said notice that an email sent on Saturday threatened to fire the next day.
“The message is directed at members of our Haitian community,” police said. “All students, faculty and staff should take extra care and be aware of your surroundings.”
Springfield police also said they received calls Saturday about members of the Proud Boys marching in the city, after a video went viral on social media of a group of men holding flags and wearing signs associated with the far-right group.
Vance told CBS News on Sunday that he had “no association” with the Proud Boys but said the real problem was Harris’ “open borders.”
Trump, like Vance, has doubled down on baseless claims and said the city has been “destroyed” by immigrants.
Campaigning Friday in California, Trump vowed there would be a “massive eviction” in Springfield if elected. He has promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants across the country.
Springfield, a city in southwestern Ohio, is home to about 60,000 people and has seen thousands of immigrants arrive in recent years.
Most of the immigrants in the city are from Haiti and have legal permission to be in the US under the Haitian national program.
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