An Ohio county sheriff seemingly instructed residents to write down the addresses of homeowners who have signs supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in their front yards, according to his social media post.
Portage County Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski shared a Facebook post on Sept. 13 concerning Harris' campaign and her border policies.
"When people ask me...What's gonna happen if the Flip - Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say...write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards," Zuchowski wrote in the Facebook post. "Sooo...when the Illegal human "Locust" (which she supports!) Need places to live...We'll already have the addresses of their New families...who supported their arrival!"
Attached to the sheriff's social media post are screenshots of Fox News coverage from Aurora, Colorado , and Springfield, Ohio . Both Aurora and Springfield have garnered national attention after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance , said that migrants were committing dangerous acts in the cities — including taking over apartment complexes and kidnapping and eating pets.
USA TODAY contacted Zuchowski and the Portage County Sheriff's Office on Monday but has not received a response.
What did Trump and Vance say about Springfield and Aurora?
Over the past couple of weeks, Trump and Vance have told stories about migrants in Aurora and Springfield while campaigning, many of which local officials have refuted. The former president made mention of both cities during last week's presidential debate on ABC.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in," Trump said about Haitian migrants in Springfield during the debate, which drew more than 67 million viewers. "They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there. This is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Early in the debate, Trump said, "You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns.” In Aurora, members of a Venezuelan prison gang called Tren de Aragua (TdA) were arrested and charged with various offenses following rumors that they were taking over a local apartment complex and making tenants pay them rent.
Vance has also commented on both cities and called for action along the border.
Springfield's and Aurora's leadership denounce rumors
Leaders in both cities have denounced the rumors and emphatically denied that there is any truth to them.
In a video message on Facebook , Springfield city manager Bryan Heck spoke about the rumors.
"It is disappointing that some of the narrative surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified political rhetoric in the current highly charged presidential election cycle," Heck said in the video posted Sept. 11. "These rumors will not distract us from addressing the real strain on our resources."
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Council Member and Public Safety Chair Danielle Jurinsky released a statement last week following the TdA arrests and Trump's comments.
"TdA has not 'taken over' the city," the statement reads. "The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months."
'The American media totally ignored this stuff'
Vance defended the rumors , during a CNN interview over the weekend, defended his use of the stories as a clever way to get the attention of Americans during the election season.
In the Sunday morning interview on CNN's "State of the Union," journalist Dana Bash asked the vice presidential candidate why Trump did not discuss policy during the debate and instead just said, "Haitians are eating dogs and cats."
"Can you affirmatively say now that this is a rumor that has no basis with evidence?" Bash asked.
Vance told Bash that his evidence was the firsthand accounts of his constituents who told him that it was happening.
"The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes," he said. "If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast."
Bash then pointed out that Vance just said he was creating a story, to which the senator responded, "Yes."
"We are creating − we are – Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents," Vance said. "I say that we're creating a story, meaning we're creating the American media focusing on it. I didn't create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield, thanks to Kamala Harris' policies. Her policies did that, but yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris' policies."
Contributing: Erin Couch/ Cincinnati Enquirer
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio sheriff asks residents to 'write down' Harris supporter addresses for migrant housing
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