Springfield official told Vance staffer before debate that rumors about Haitian immigrants were ‘baseless,’ mayor confirms
CNN
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The Trump campaign continued to spread false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, even after a top city official told a member of his vice presidential candidate’s campaign staff before this month’s presidential debate that the rumors were “baseless,” the city’s mayor said, confirming a Wall Street Journal report.
A staffer for vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance called Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck on Sept. 9 and asked if there was any truth to rumors that Haitian immigrants were bringing and eating pets in Springfield, Heck told the Journal.
“He asked me point blank, ‘Are the rumors that pets are being taken and eaten true?’” Heck told the outlet. “I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports that this was true. I told them these allegations were baseless.”
“Yes, that call was made,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told CNN’s “Laura Coates Live” Thursday. “The answer was given, and what has happened since then has happened.”
CNN has made repeated attempts to contact Heck for comment.
During the debate that took place the day after the city official debunked the rumor, former President Donald Trump repeated the false claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield steal and eat local pets, thrusting the Midwestern community into an unwanted national spotlight that has stoked threats of violence against its residents.
Since the Sept. 10 debate, Springfield has received more than 35 threats of violence, including bomb threats, according to the mayor, prompting the evacuation of elementary schools and supermarkets, the closure of hospitals and a transition to remote learning at several local middle schools.
“The Springfield I know is not the one you hear about in social media gossip,” Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who was born in the city, wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times on Friday.
“I am disappointed that Springfield has become the epicenter of vitriol over U.S. immigration policy, as it has long been a community of great diversity,” DeWine wrote.
“As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat unproven claims and denigrate legal immigrants living in Springfield. This rhetoric harms the city and its residents, and those who have spent their lives here,” the editorial said.
Although these false claims have been widely debunked, Trump and Vance have redoubled their efforts since the debate.
Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday to support his claims, Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, said he had received concerns from his constituents, though he did not provide evidence.
“I’ve heard from my constituents about a dozen different concerns. Ten of them are verifiable and confirmable, and I’m talking about two of them because my constituents are telling me firsthand that they’re seeing these things. So I have two options, Dana: I can ignore them, which is what the American media has been doing for years to this community, or I can talk about what people are telling me,” Vance said.
A Vance spokesperson, responding to CNN’s request for comment on the Journal’s report, accused the media of “deliberately misrepresenting what Senator Vance said.”
The false claims and resulting threats have thrown Springfield into chaos, with Rue issuing a proclamation Thursday granting himself temporary emergency powers to obtain and mobilize resources to address potential threats.
“This will enable departments to respond more effectively to emerging risks, including civil unrest, cyber threats, and potential acts of violence,” the proclamation said.
The news comes as members of Springfield’s Haitian community, many of whom are among the 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the city, have expressed fear for their safety.
Haitian immigrant Vilbrun Dorsainvil told CNN that since last week, people walking on the sidewalks in his predominantly Haitian neighborhood are now afraid to leave their homes.
As the city struggles to respond to the multitude of threats, Trump said at a campaign rally Wednesday night that he would visit Springfield “in the next two weeks.”
But Rue has repeatedly said that a visit by either presidential candidate would strain the city’s resources.
“If (Trump) chooses to change his plans, it would send an important message of peace to the city of Springfield,” Rue said at a news conference Thursday. “We have repeatedly asked that those in the national spotlight and with a national microphone tell the truth. And we need help, not hate.”
The mayor told CNN Friday he was also concerned about the message the candidates would send from Springfield.
“What I worry about is that what we’ve seen on the national stage, I really wouldn’t want to see a repeat…in our community,” Rue said of a possible Trump visit.
Rue lamented that the false statements and the frenzied public debate have distracted from deeper discussions about immigration reform. He said that even if Trump or Vance were to walk back their false statements about Haitian immigrants in the city, he’s not sure it would make a difference.
“I don’t know what that would do. Like I said, the real problem is what’s being said around the rhetoric — immigration reform, the porous border,” Rue said. “There needs to be reform… That’s what we need to be talking about. Not defending our community against false allegations.”
CNN’s Meridith Edwards and Omar Jimenez contributed to this report.
