‘Out of Control’: Furious Republican Mayor of Springfield Slams Pet-Eating Conspiracy Theories

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Local officials in Springfield, Ohio are losing patience after being the subject of a debunked conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants in the small town were eating pets . Some of those officials are Republicans and are calling out former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).

Politico spoke to Springfield Mayor Rob Rue about the havoc the conspiracy theory has wrought in his town, which has faced continued bomb threats to public facilities, schools , and hospitals , and as of Monday, resulted in the cancellation of CultureFest , an annual event that celebrated diversity in the community. A “tired and angry” Rue told Politico’s Adam Wren :

Any political leader that takes the national stage and has the national spotlight needs to understand the gravity of the words that they have for cities like ours, and what they say impacts our city. And we’ve had bomb threats the last two days. We’ve had personal threats the last two days, and it’s increasing, because the national stage is swirling this up. Springfield, Ohio, is caught in a political vortex, and it is a bit out of control. We are a wonderful city — a beautiful town. And for what it’s worth, your pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio.

Wren also asked Rue, who is a Republican who has supported Trump, if he was still going to vote for the ex-president in November. Rue’s response was not affirmative: “I’m just probably not going to answer that question.” He added: “We have a big-hearted community, and we’re being smeared in a way we don’t deserve.”

Trump pushed the false pet-eating claim during last week’s ABC News debate , a moment that yielded a number of online memes. Vance, an Ohio native, has also persistently pushed the claim despite there being no facts to back it up, and even admitted to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that he “create[d] the story” to get people to pay attention to the smear.

Several prominent Ohio officials have condemned the story, including Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine , who called the story a “piece of garbage” with “no evidence” of truth.