(NewsNation) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is looking for legal avenues to curb the flow of migrants into the state following baseless claims that migrants have been stealing and eating pets in one city.
Social media posts have accused Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, population 58,000, of eating wildlife and pets, but local police say the claims are not true.
Yost’s office in a statement Monday said the attorney general would “find a way to get this disaster in front of a federal judge” in order to stop the U.S. government from “sending an unlimited number of migrants to Ohio communities.”
Yost joined “Morning in America” on Tuesday to discuss the impact the migrant influx has had on Ohio communities.
“I’m hearing the same thing as everyone else, but I trust the local police,” Yost said of the claims about animals being eaten. “The real issue here is how can a city grow by a third from immigration and know nothing about it?”
Springfield’s population has grown by a third in recent years, specifically from mostly Haitian migrants totaling 20,000.
The unverified claims of park animal consumption have garnered a social media buzz on the national stage, with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance amplifying the claim.
“Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” he said in a post on social media platform X. “Where is our border czar?”
Springfield is about 45 miles west of Columbus and about an hour away from where Vance grew up.
The GOP House Judiciary Committee also weighed in, posting a picture of former President Donald Trump holding a duck and a kitten with the caption, “Protect our ducks and kittens of Ohio!”
Elon Musk, owner of X, also added: “Vote for Kamala if you want this to happen to your neighborhood!”
Yost says he does not have additional information on the claims that migrants are eating animals.
“I don’t have proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I’m not calling anybody a liar, but I’m just declining to weigh in on something the police are telling me is not an issue on their radar,” Yost said.
But he does believe something should be done to address the influx of migrants.
“Here in Springfield, the city services, schools, the health care system is groaning to the breaking point,” he said. “We need a solution. We need it now.”
Residents have also accused the migrants of crimes like “running into trash cans” and “flipping cars in the middle of the street.”
But police and the city refute the claims of pets and wildlife being abducted and eaten.
“There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” said Karen Graves, the strategic engagement manager for the city of Springfield.
The Springfield Police Division corroborated the city’s account, telling the Springfield News-Sun that officers had not received any local reports of pets being stolen or eaten. Investigators said the viral story originated in a Springfield Facebook group, where the poster referenced a neighbor’s daughter’s friend finding her cat hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home.
The city is seeking additional money to deal with the current migrant influx, while the attorney general is hoping to prevent this from happening in other places.
“Imagine a small town of 58,000 people you wake up, and there’s an extra 20,000 people and none of them speak the language. They all have a different culture,” Yost told NewsNation. “I’m not bashing them … It’s about how many and how (they’re coming in).”
