Fact Check: No, Video Footage and News Headlines Don't Document Haitian Immigrant Eating Cat in Springfield, Ohio
Claim:
Video footage and news headlines authentically document an incident in which a Haitian immigrant in Springfield, Ohio, ate a cat.
Rating:
Following remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump in his first presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris — in which he repeated the unfounded claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were "eating your dogs" and "eating your cats" — several conservative influencers shared purported evidence to support the claim.
One of the earliest pieces of alleged support came from an Aug. 16, 2024, incident in which an Ohio woman identified as Alexis Telia Ferrell allegedly killed and ate a pet cat in front of several people:
Authorities later released body camera footage of the incident, which some conservative influencers then used as alleged evidence of the claims against Haitian immigrants, describing or implying that the woman involved in this incident was Haitian:
As Snopes previously reported, and other outlets have confirmed, Ferrell is not a Haitian immigrant. According to The Associated Press, she is an American citizen who was born in the United States and who graduated from high school in Canton, Ohio. This event has nothing to do with Springfield, as it occurred in a different town.
According to court records viewed by Snopes, Ferrell has an extensive criminal record involving numerous arrests, but none of these charges involved any immigration-related violation. In the cat incident, she was booked into jail on suspicion of prohibitions concerning companion animals, cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct, according to news reports.
Because Ferrell is not an immigrant, not Haitian and not from Springfield, we have rated the claim as "False."
Sources:
CJIS Stark County. https://www.starkcjis.org/#/home. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
Kasprak, Alex. "No Evidence Haitian Immigrants Are Eating Ducks, Geese or Pets in Springfield, Ohio." Snopes, 10 Sept. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/cats-ducks-haitians-springfield/.
MSN. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ohio-woman-accused-of-killing-eating-cat/ar-AA1p85LR. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
"Woman Accused of Killing and Eating a Cat in Ohio Is Not an Immigrant, Was Born in Canton." WPXI, 12 Sept. 2024, https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/woman-accused-killing-eating-cat-ohio-is-not-an-immigrant-was-born-canton/CNKQDHSCUVF75HKKPODXURQSXQ/.
