Kimberly Newton said that her neighbor, Erika Lee, misstated her comments in a backyard conversation that became a widely circulated social media post.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—A backyard conversation between neighbors—followed by a misstated social media post that sparked a national media storm centered on reports of Haitian immigrants killing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio—has led to a backlash that has both women fearing for their safety.
Erika Lee and Kimberly Newton live next to each other in what Newton describes as a “usually quiet and peaceful” neighborhood in this blue-collar city located midway between Dayton and Columbus in southwest Ohio.
Springfield was once a booming industrial community before multiple factories closed in recent decades, and its population began to decline, reaching just below 60,000 by 2020. In the past four years, however, the population has risen with the influx of Haitian immigrants.
According to estimates, anywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 Haitians have arrived in Springfield during this period, and buses are said to drop off more immigrants every day.
Earlier this month, after talking to Newton, Lee wrote a since-deleted Facebook post that first appeared in a private Springfield Facebook group called “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information.”
“My neighbor [Newton] informed me that her daughter’s friend had lost her cat. One day she came home from work, [and] as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbor’s house, where Haitians live, and saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, and they were carving it up to eat.”
The story escalated when Lee’s post was screenshotted and posted to X on Sept. 5, where multiple conservative-leaning accounts shared it.
“I didn’t think it would ever get past Springfield,” Lee told NBC News.
Before the Sept. 10 presidential debate, the Haitian immigrant crisis in Springfield was mostly confined to the city and Clark County.
At an Aug. 27 city council meeting, some residents alleged that Haitians were killing cats, dogs, ducks, and geese for food.
Before the debate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), former President Donald Trump’s presidential running mate, said his office has been inundated with those claims.
Vance wrote on X that “reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
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