Arizona GOP’s continued smear of Haitian immigrants is disgusting … and political gold

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In Springfield, Ohio, the schools have gone on lockdown due to national anger that exploded last week — fueled by a former president who is doubling down on debunked claims that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets.

Two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed on Friday after a bomb threat.

Meanwhile in Arizona, the state Republican Party was putting up billboards around Phoenix, urging people to “Eat Less Kittens. Vote Republican.”

City offices have had to close in Springfield after bomb threats. Four hospitals have been targeted and county courts closed as well.

Wittenberg University, a private liberal arts college in the city, on Saturday canceled all activities scheduled for Sunday after being threatened with a “potential shooting on-campus” that targeted Haitians.

Arizona Republicans double down on pet eating Meanwhile, the Arizona Republican Party has been busy all weekend, feeding the frenzy — tripling and quadrupling down on what amounts to a false rumor that Haitian immigrants are barbecuing Buster.

Delighted state GOP officials are stoking America’s anger all over social media, with repost after seething repost of pet eating claims, along with memes of dogs and cats dressed for combat.

“CAT LIVES MATTER,” wrote one.

“They’re eating the dogs, cats and now birds … in Dallas,” wrote another.

“New videos are surfacing EVERY DAY showing people eating cats, dogs, geese, pigeons ... And you STILL see the cultist sheep out there who swear it’s not happening ... ,” wrote yet another.

Ohio’s governor, Springfield’s mayor and the local police swear it’s not happening.

“This is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all,” Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”

Springfield, Ohio, has been overwhelmed Even the woman who supplied the spark for this wildfire — claiming on Facebook that she’d heard that a neighbor’s daughter’s friend’s cat had been eaten by a Haitian — says she didn’t really know if it was true and now regrets posting a rumor.

“It just exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen … ,” she told NBC News. “I feel for the Haitian community. If I was in the Haitians’ position, I’d be terrified, too.”

Oh, they are.

Haitian immigrants in Springfield are reportedly afraid to leave their homes.

These people are here legally, having fled violence in their home country and been granted legal status under a federal humanitarian program. They’ve come to Springfield over the last five years, drawn to jobs in a community that needed workers.

Is there a problem? Absolutely.

Trump's 'dogs' line got us to laugh: But it's not funny

Haitian immigrants have overwhelmed this small Ohio city, putting stresses on housing, health care, schools and social services.

That’s a fair point, one that must be (read: should have been) addressed by the Biden administration that allowed many of them entry to the country.

Amid the myths comes a curious post But these Haitian immigrants are not savages, and Springfield’s pets and wildlife are not what’s for dinner.

“There has been a lie that’s been posted and said about Springfield, and then it’s been repeated, double repeated and triple repeated, and we’d like that to stop,” Mayor Rob Rue said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Republican Party continued to pile on Saturday and Sunday. I stopped counting at around 100 or so party reposts of the pet eating myth in 24 hours.

It doesn’t matter if it’s true. With just seven weeks until the election, it’s political gold.

“Trump: ‘They've taken the geese … even walking off with their pets. My dog’s been taken! My dog’s gone’,” said one.

“Foreigners are eating cats and dogs here. Trump will stop that,” said another.

“Import the third world, become the third world," said yet another.

And then, curiously, there was the party’s Sunday morning message, reposted smack in the middle of its Haitian bashing:

“Lord, rise up! God, show your power! Don't forget those who are helpless. — Psalm 10:12.”

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz and on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Springfield, Ohio, is in lockdown, yet Arizona GOP keeps up its attack

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Arizona GOP’s continued smear of Haitian immigrants is disgusting … and political gold

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