During the recent presidential debate, the chronically truth-challenged Donald Trump unleashed a verbal blitzkrieg on Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
With his trademark blend of bombast and bigotry, Trump painted a lurid picture of these immigrants as voracious cannibals, devouring hapless dogs, cats, and anything else that crossed their path like a malevolent black hole. Trump, however, was merely the final instigator in this sordid saga. He amplified a backyard rumor that had been simmering in the background noise of social media. One of the first to lend credence to this baseless conspiracy was Erika Lee, a Springfield resident who took to Facebook to spread the unsubstantiated claim. It all started with a Facebook post concerning a neighbor’s missing cat, which she blamed on her Haitian neighbors based on hearsay. This accusation had no basis in fact but was rather an expression of unverified suspicion.
Now, as the fallout from her reckless post threatens to engulf her, Lee is engaging in a tap dance of backpedaling and deflection. “I’m not a racist,” she blubbered, trotting out her mixed-race heritage and LGBTQ identity as if they were get-out-of-jail-free cards for fomenting racial animosity. Lee’s belated expressions of concern for the Haitian community she so carelessly vilified feel like too little, too late. “I feel for the Haitian community,” she said. “If I was in the Haitians’ position, I’d be terrified, too.” But where was this empathy when she hit “post” on her inflammatory Facebook message? Did she not consider the potential ramifications of spreading such a damaging rumor? Her crocodile tears can’t wash away the very real consequences of her actions. The Springfield City School District was forced to shutter a middle school and evacuate two elementary schools, while City Hall was targeted with a bomb threat.
The backdrop to this chaos includes other incidents across Ohio. In August 2024, Canton police arrested a lifelong resident, Allexis Telia Ferrell, for allegedly killing and eating a cat in what appears to be an isolated case tied to mental health issues. Similarly, a contextless photo on Reddit depicting a man carrying dead geese in Columbus proves nothing about the Haitian population in Springfield. Local authorities have consistently maintained that there is no proof of such crimes occurring in Springfield. Yet, thanks to the irresponsible actions of individuals like Lee and the amplification by figures like Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, these baseless accusations have ignited a national firestorm.
Trump, in his signature style, even shamelessly labeled the Haitian immigrants as “illegal,” despite the fact that they are in the country through legal means, including the Immigration Parole Program. The truth is that Springfield has actively worked to attract immigrants to revitalize its economy after decades of decline. The influx of 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian migrants over the past four years has brought much-needed skills and diversity to the city. But now, due to the reckless spread of misinformation, this community finds itself under repeated attack from the right wing. As for Lee, her half-hearted mea culpa is a day late and a dollar short. Haitian community in Springfield truly deserve an apology not just from Lee, but also from all the ghouls and grifters who gleefully piled onto this fabricated fracas for their own selfish ends.