A Springfield, Ohio, resident was on his way to work when he called 911 to report seeing four Haitian immigrants kidnapping a goose near a city park just two weeks ago, according to a newly released recording.
Calls to Clark County Sheriff's Office dispatchers can be made at Federalist Papersappears to confirm widespread claims that some members of immigrant communities are eating animals in city parks.
Former President Donald Trump brought the incident back to public attention on Tuesday night, claiming that immigrants in Springfield were “eating dog.”
Local police and authorities claim there have been no reports of pets being taken for food, but residents have previously alleged that ducks and other birds were being eaten.
“I'm sitting here, running on the trail, I'm on my way to orientation for my job today, and there's a group of Haitians, about four of them, all with geese in their hands,” the caller told the dispatcher.
The group of two men and two women each grabbed one bird and drove off in a gray Toyota Tacoma truck, according to the caller, who provided a partial legible license plate.
The Aug. 26 call came from Springfield, a city of 60,000 people about 45 minutes from Columbus that has become synonymous with concerns about culture clashes caused by large numbers of immigrants moving into a small town all at once.
About 20,000 Haitian immigrants have poured into this quiet town over the past four years, putting such a strain on local resources that city leaders wrote to Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this summer desperately seeking federal aid to ease their financial burden.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that he was sending in Ohio Highway Patrol troopers to assist local police, as well as allocating $2.5 million to help the city's overburdened health care system.
Allegations about immigrants' treatment of local animals, including household pets, have gone viral in recent days.
While the veracity of these reports varies and some are outright false, these attention-grabbing claims have been propelled into the mainstream by people like Elon Musk and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump's running mate.
Critics say the allegations are racist against black Haitian immigrants.
Residents at a Springfield City Council meeting last month shared stories of immigrants harassing locals and committing a range of horrifying acts, from throwing mattresses in front yards to eating any four-legged creature.
Anthony Harris, 28, had made a number of complaints about inappropriate immigrant behaviour.
“Haitians are running into trash cans. They're running into buildings. They're flipping cars in the middle of the road. I don't know how they can be OK with this,” he complained to city officials at an Aug. 28 meeting.
He also claimed, without evidence, that Haitian immigrants were decapitating ducks in local parks and taking them home to eat.
“They're in the park grabbing ducks by the neck, cutting their heads off and eating them.”
Another image that went viral was originally Share on Columbus subreddit The July post shows a man walking along a suburban road carrying a goose, but the poster did not provide any further context.
