On the evening of September 9, Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher pushed the previously debunked racist smear that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating pets, claiming that Haitian migrants “are taking people's pets and killing them and eating them.”

The claim had been debunked long before. In a statement sent to NBC News, the Springfield Police Division said that they were aware of the “rumors” but had no information to support them:

“In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”