The Springfield, Ohio, resident who told police Haitian immigrants had eaten her cat has confessed that the animal is alive and well. Anna Kilgore filed a report after her cat disappeared and blamed Haitians for stealing the animal – an accusation that eventually prompted Donald Trump to condemn the immigrants during his Presidential debate against Kamala Harris.
However, Kilgore has since acknowledged that her cat, Miss Sassy, was hiding in her basement the whole time and returned unharmed. Kilgore apologized for the error and told reporters it was a mistake that got out of hand.
Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, picked up the story and turned it into an international headline. Trump raised eyebrows when he insisted that migrants “are eating the dogs” and “eating the cats” during his debate with Harris. In a subsequent interview, Senator Vance appeared to admit that the story was false, telling Dana Bash that he is willing to “create stories” if it prompts the media to “pay attention to the suffering of the American people.”
Republicans helped spread the story online with memes and images of Trump saving America’s cats and dogs. The high-profile issue subsequently caused chaos in the Ohio town as bomb threats caused school and college closures and the town hall’s evacuation. On September 17, the Springfield City School District confirmed that it had closed the Simon Kenton Elementary School and Kenwood Elementary School after warnings from police. A statement from the school district said an email “raised concerns about a possible shooting.”
The FBI confirmed it is investigating “ongoing threats” in Springfield, while Governor Mike DeWine stated there had been “at least 33 separate bomb threats.” However, the Governor said the threats were all “hoaxes” and had come from outside the United States.
Approximately 20,000 Haitian immigrants currently reside in Springfield, most of whom arrived in recent years and in response to demands for workers. Reports indicate, however, that the influx has increased strain on local services and caused rising tensions. Things worsened last August when a Haitian immigrant, who did not have a valid driving license, crashed into a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark. The boy’s father, Nathan Clark, has spoken against Donald Trump and accused him of stirring up racial hatred in the town.
