Trump Was Not ‘Vindicated’: New ‘Evidence’ for Haitian Pet-Eating Claim Doesn’t Pan Out

This story first appeared in NewsGuard’s Reality Check. It has been republished with permission.

What happened: Some conservatives continue to push the false claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are killing and eating pets, now citing as evidence a Dec. 2, 2024, sentencing of a non-Haitian Ohio woman who pled guilty to charges relating to killing and eating a pet cat.

Context: In September 2024, conservatives, including President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, spread the false claim that Springfield’s Haitian migrants were stealing and eating pet cats and dogs. As first reported in Reality Check, the claim originated in a local Facebook group by a woman who had no direct knowledge of any pet-eating occurrences and, when contacted by NewsGuard, warned that she had no first- or even second-hand knowledge supporting the claim. Local authorities denied the claim and no evidence has emerged to back it.

A closer look: The claim amassed millions of views anew in December 2024 after a non-Haitian woman in another part of Ohio

pled guilty to animal cruelty.

Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones shared an X post about the woman’s sentencing on Dec. 2, alongside a Trump quote from the Sept. 10, 2024, presidential debate: “‘They are eating the cats and dogs.’ Donald Trump Oct, 2024.” The post received 1.8 million views and 41,000 likes in two days.

Conservative X account @BUbblebathgirl reposted a video about the sentencing, adding the caption, “Trump is vindicated, again.” The post garnered 316,000 views and 15,000 likes in three days. The post was not issued a community note by Dec. 8.

Actually: It is true that an Ohio woman, Allexis Ferrell, was sentenced for animal cruelty. However, she is not a Haitian migrant, nor is she from Springfield.

The Canton Repository (NewsGuard Trust Score: 100/100) reported in September 2024 that Ferrell is a resident of Canton, Ohio — 170 miles from Springfield — who “has no known connection to Haiti or any other foreign country.”

In an Aug. 16, 2024, incident, Ferrell was arrested and accused of killing and eating a domestic cat in her driveway.

On Dec. 2, a Stark County, Ohio, judge sentenced her to one year in prison after she pled guilty to cruelty to companion animals, a fifth-degree felony. The judge also ordered Ferrell to serve an additional 18 months on a previous child endangerment charge.