Neo-Nazi group helped fuel the unproven anti-Haitian animal claims that Trump later spread

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A self-avowed member of the U.S. neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe delivers an anti-Haitian immigrants rant to the Springfield City Commission on August 27, two weeks before the presidential candidates debate where Donald Trump made anti-Haitian rhetoric national news.

 

 

A hard-core U.S. neo-Nazi group called Blood Tribe was actively organizing in Springfield, Ohio and promoting anti-Haitian immigrant and unsubstantiated animal eating claims in the weeks before GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and running mate J.D. Vance made national news by publicly promoting similar kinds of claims, according to news reports.

 

Several news agencies have already documented the Blood Tribe group's August 10 march in downtown Springfield in which about a dozen masked members carrying banners with swastikas held what they dubbed an "anti-Haitian Immigration march." Then on August 27, two weeks before the U.S. presidential candidates debate where Trump publicly made the animal eating claims, a member of the Blood Tribe group who acknowledged leading that march told city commissioners during their public meeting that "crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in." He did not, though, on that day mention animal killing or eating in his public remarks.

 

However on Friday, NBC News expanded on that reporting, adding that the national Blood Tribe group began posting the anti-Haitian immigration and supposed animal eating claims relating to Springfield via several of its social media channels in August. And then in early September according to NBC News, about a week before the September 10 candidates debate, the group did another post "with multiple racial epithets" claiming Haitians "eat the ducks out of the city parks."

 

There's no indication in the NBC News report or elsewhere that there was any direct contact between the Blood Tribe group and the Trump-Vance campaign. Rather, the NBC News report says "a few days" after the neo-Nazi group's early September post, a separate but popular right-wing social media account posted similar but broader claims that Haitians had killed and eaten a cat [a real case later proven unrelated to Springfield or Haitians], that "ducks and pets are disappearing," and including a photo of a man carrying a goose that also was later proven as unrelated to Springfield. According to NBC, that post with its subsequently debunked claims has been viewed millions of times, saying "from there, the rumors snowballed."

 

During the debate, Trump made the following remarks:
 

Quote

 

And look at what's happening to the towns all over the United States. And a lot of towns don't want to talk -- not going to be Aurora or Springfield. A lot of towns don't want to talk about it because they're so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country. And it's a shame.

 

 

The day after Trump's unproven debate claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield and supposed animal eating, the NBC News report says the national head of the Blood Tribe group, identified as Christopher Pohlhaus, posted to one of his social media accounts taking credit for the debacle, saying Blood Tribe had "pushed Springfield into the public consciousness." According to the NBC News report, a member of the hate group agreed, posting in response "The president is talking about it now... This is what real power looks like."

 

The NBC News report notes: "Trump's line at the debate was the culmination of a weekslong rumor mill that appears to have at least been amplified by Blood Tribe... As with most rumors, the beginning of the baseless claims about Haitians eating pets in Springfield is hard to pinpoint, but Blood Tribe undoubtedly helped spread it." Just how early the neo-Nazi group began organizing in Springfield has not been made clear in news reports, though NBC News said online rumors locally in Springfield began as early as late June.

 

According to the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, Blood Tribe is a growing neo-Nazi group that claims to have chapters across the United States and Canada. The center says, "In 2023, Blood Tribe has several dozen members and thousands of online followers."

 

The center's profile of the group adds:  "Blood Tribe presents itself as a hardcore white supremacist group and rejects white supremacists who call for softer “optics.” Blood Tribe members emphasize hyper-masculinity; the group does not allow female members. Blood Tribe sees themselves as both the last remaining bulwark against enemies of the white race and the only path to a white ethnostate."

 

Apart from the group's recent anti Haitian immigrant activity in Springfield, the Center on Extremism's profile says Blood Tribe was active in 2023 counter-protesting against LGBTQ+ events with group members carrying rifles and swastika flags. During 2023, the group held public protests in at least seven U.S. cities including Madison, Hudson, and Watertown, Wisconsin; Toledo, Columbus, and Wadsworth, Ohio; and Altamonte, Florida, according to the center.

 

By 2024, according to NBC News, the group had shifted its public actions to an anti-immigrant focus, thus far protesting in Springfield and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Nashville, Tennessee, and Pierre, South Dakota.

 

The group's late August appearance at the Springfield City Commission meeting and its prior march in the city have been reported separately by the Internet culture news site Daily Dot, and the Haitian Times news site. The Daily Dot's Sept. 11 report is titled, "How a neo-Nazi helped kickstart the right-wing anti-Haitian migrant panic."

 

In that report, the Daily Dot talks of the Blood Tribe member who warned the Springfield City Commission, calling him "self-identified as a member of Blood Tribe—the neo-Nazi group that helped lead a white nationalist march in downtown Nashville in early 2024 in which members spewed antisemitic and racist chants—and gave his name as “Nathaniel Higgers,” a coded pseudonym derivative of of a racial slur.

 

The Blood Tribe member's public appearance was recorded on a publc Youtube video of the city commission meeting, and in a resulting X (Twitter) social media post.

 

The news site Haitian Times has a separate Aug. 30 report titled: "White supremacist’s “warning” against Haitians in Ohio triggers fear and calls for action."  That report begins with an Editor's Note update that says: "An earlier version of this story erroneously referred to the white supremacist group leader as Nathaniel Higgers, the name he provided at the meeting. Since publication, several sources have revealed that the speaker’s real name is Drake R. Berentz. They said the false name is a derivative of Nate Higgers, a racial slur."

 

The Haitian Times report describes the group's Springfield march, saying: "During the Jazz and Blues Fest on Aug. 10, Blood Tribe members wore black pants, red jackets and black ski masks. The group brandished white supremacist paraphernalia, including a black flag emblazoned with a white swastika. Some Haitians said the group also shouted, ‘If you’re Black, go back to Africa’ during their demonstration."

 

Full weblinks for all the above-cited news sources:

 

NBC News:

Before Trump, neo-Nazis pushed false claims about Haitians as part of hate campaign

An extremist group that marched in Springfield, Ohio, and demonized Haitian immigrants saw Trump's mention of baseless rumors at the debate as a victory: “This is what real power looks like.”

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trump-neo-nazis-pushed-false-claims-haitians-part-hate-campaign-rcna170796

 

 

Daily Dot:

 

How a neo-Nazi helped kickstart the right-wing anti-Haitian migrant panic

Rhetoric ‘ripped from the Nazi playbook.’

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/haitian-migrants-springfield-neo-nazi/

 

 

Haitian Times

White supremacist’s “warning” against Haitians in Ohio triggers fear and calls for action 

Influx of Haitians has triggered anti-immigrant backlash and some support as state’s social and political landscape is reshaped

 

https://haitiantimes.com/2024/08/30/springfield-ohio-haitian-immigrants-racism/

 

 

Anti Defamation League's Center on Extremism

 

Backgrounder

Blood Tribe

 

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/blood-tribe

 

 

Springfield City Commission Meeting (Blood Tribe member's comments)

 

 

 

 

 

ABC News debate transcript:

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542

 

 

--end--

 

 

[earlinclaifornia]

4chan too helps these phony stories. Help can be found for a Mental Health crises.

 

There are many toll-free numbers for mental health in the United States, including:

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=7ef4f979cad443e4&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIKIHEvWCVpkGZRtyTzbSWUIa_dEAQ:1726276324710&q=toll+free+phone+number+for+us+mental+health&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFgvm4oMGIAxUq2DgGHUYMAvEQBSgAegQIExAB&biw=890&bih=374&dpr=4.2

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Trump is Picking up Haitian Migrants Disinformation from Neo-Nazis: Pastor

Sep 13, 2024

 

A pastor whose church has links with Springfield, Ohio, has told Newsweek that he believes Donald Trump and JD Vance have been listening to neo-Nazis and nationalists for their information on Haitian migrants.

 

Ben Marsh, who leads First Alliance Church in Winston, North Carolina, said Friday that Christians needed to speak out about the things being said about their Haitian family members: claims that they have been eating and stealing pets.

...

"My understanding is he's picking up on this information that began on online forums among neo-Nazis that gets filtered through a nationalist, conservative information channel to his vice presidential candidate, JD Vance," Marsh told Newsweek.

 

(more)

 

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-haitian-immigrants-springfield-ohio-disinformation-neo-nazis-1953643

 

[DougieMax]

Nothing like that could possibly happen among that fine group of engineers, doctors and mathematicians imported from Haiti. Heck, the country can benefit from a million more. Elect Kamala Harris and we'll get twice the load of human treasure. Not to do so would be racist (an sh!t).

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

“It has to stop”: Biden condemns attacks on Haitian-Americans after bomb threats in Springfield

and follow-up comments by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is a Haitian American:

 

 

 

Per the Washington Post:

 

"President Joe Biden lashed out Friday at Republican nominee Donald Trump for spreading false smears against Haitian immigrants in an Ohio city, as Trump dismissed threats against the community and promised deportations.

 

“I want to take a moment to say something [about the] Haitian American community that’s under attack in our country right now,” Biden said during a White House event celebrating Black excellence. “It’s simply wrong. There’s no place in America. This has to stop, what he’s doing. It has to stop!”

...

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also criticized Trump on Friday, referencing her heritage as a Haitian American.

Speaking as “the first Black, openly queer White House press secretary and, I’ve got to add, a proud Haitian American,” Jean-Pierre said of Biden: “I can tell you, representation matters to him. Our voices matter to him, our perspectives matter to him and our success and our community matters to him.”

 

https://archive.ph/bHvK3

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/13/biden-trump-haitian-immigrants/

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 minutes ago, DougieMax said:

Nothing like that could possibly happen among that fine group of engineers, doctors and mathematicians imported from Haiti. Heck, the country can benefit from a million more. Elect Kamala Harris and we'll get twice the load of human treasure. Not to do so would be racist (an sh!t).

 

Comments from the CEO of a Springfield manufacturing company praising Haitian immigrant workers and explaining how they provided his company with a workforce that they couldn't get from native workers there.

 

And after that, broader background on the Haitian immigrant issues in Springfield from PBS.

 

 

Edited September 14 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[UWEB]

All this doesn't surprise me, as soon the right wingers open their mouth they start lying and spreading hate.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Trump vows mass deportations from town rocked by 'pet-eating' lies

Sept. 14, 2024

 

Donald Trump has said he will mass deport migrants in a small Ohio town that has been rocked by baseless claims that its Haitian influx are eating pets and park animals.

 

"We're going to start with Springfield," Trump said on Friday, adding the town had been "destroyed" by immigration. He mentioned a second city in Colorado, which right-wing commentators have falsely claimed is in the hands of a Venezuelan gang.

 

Springfield officials say that the debunked claim of pet-eating has sent shockwaves through its community, and has led to violent threats that have shut schools.

 

(more)

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wp6q132p2o

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Bomb threats rattle Springfield for 2nd day as Ohio city finds itself at center of latest Trump controversy

The former president keeps pushing the baseless claim that pets are being eaten, and the community is feeling the effects.

Former President Donald Trump continues to push the baseless claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been stealing pets and eating them. And the city has been feeling the effects this week.

 

On Thursday, multiple city, county and school buildings were closed following a bomb threat. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the emailed threat mentioned “frustration with the city related to Haitian immigration issues.” The FBI is working with local police to help identify the source of the threat, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott told reporters.

 

On Friday, two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed in the wake of the threat. It was not immediately clear whether Friday's evacuations and closing were due to a new threat or linked to the previous missive.

 

(more)

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bomb-threats-rattle-springfield-for-2nd-day-as-ohio-city-finds-itself-at-center-of-latest-trump-controversy-193300655.html

 

[Will B Good]

A woman heard it from a neighbour, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from their daughter.......

 

Republicans are not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-haitian-eating-pets-immigrants-facebook-source-b2612208.html

 

 

Edited September 14 by Will B Good

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Bomb threats rattle Springfield for 2nd day as Ohio city finds itself at center of latest Trump controversy

The former president keeps pushing the baseless claim that pets are being eaten, and the community is feeling the effects.

Former President Donald Trump continues to push the baseless claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, have been stealing pets and eating them. And the city has been feeling the effects this week.

 

On Thursday, multiple city, county and school buildings were closed following a bomb threat. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the emailed threat mentioned “frustration with the city related to Haitian immigration issues.” The FBI is working with local police to help identify the source of the threat, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott told reporters.

 

On Friday, two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed in the wake of the threat. It was not immediately clear whether Friday's evacuations and closing were due to a new threat or linked to the previous missive.

 

(more)

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bomb-threats-rattle-springfield-for-2nd-day-as-ohio-city-finds-itself-at-center-of-latest-trump-controversy-193300655.html

 

 

 

 

The one thing I am absolutely sure about is that Trump could not give a flying.......... about anyone harmed even if a bomb did go off........in fact he would see it as manna from heaven and something to be exploited.

 

 

 

 

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Lets hope the right wing media such as the good people at Fox News report this information too. 

[Will B Good]

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trump-neo-nazis-pushed-false-claims-haitians-part-hate-campaign-rcna170796

 

JD Vance helped fuel the unproven anti-Haitian animal claims that Trump later spread................

 

would be just as accurate a headline.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Trump’s racist lies about Haitians in Springfield are putting people’s lives in danger

Trump and Vance’s false claims — which they have publicly admitted they have no proof of — are having real consequences on the Ohio community.

 

Sept. 14, 2024

 

Springfield, Ohio, was abruptly thrust onto the national stage this week as Donald Trump and his allies zeroed in on the city’s Haitian population, peddling racist conspiracy theories about it. As a result, Haitian residents say they’re facing a barrage of harassment and threats, leaving them fearing for their safety.

 

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, elevated a lie about Haitians in Springfield eating pets, a thoroughly debunked claim that the Republican presidential nominee promoted Tuesday on the presidential debate stage to millions of viewers. (The claim was fostered in part by a neo-Nazi group that has waged a hate campaign against the community for months, NBC News reported.) [emphasis added per this thread]

 

Several other Republicans have amplified those lies, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Vance has also claimed that Haitians are causing a rise in communicable diseases in the city, which, as NBC News reported, is an assertion that’s been disputed by Chris Cook, the Clark County Combined Health District commissioner.

 

(more)

 

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-haitians-springfield-ohio-lies-danger-rcna171036

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Over the past few days, I've read what feels like a million different news reports on Springfield from local and national news media.

 

What local officials there at the city and county level say they're NOT concerned about:

 

--unproven and unsubstantiated or mostly just plain debunked claims that Haitian immigrants there have been harming and/or eating animals, since they say they have no credible, substantiated evidence of that occurring.

 

What local officials there at the city and county level say they're ARE concerned about and seeking assistance with:

 

--increases in road traffic crashes and dangerous driving due to local Haitian immigrants who aren't familiar enough with U.S. driving rules and signage, in part because state law there allows people to obtain licenses relatively easily.

 

--substantially increased burdens on city and county agencies including public schools and health facilities for translator services, since a portion of the more recently arrived Haitian immigrant community there still cannot readily communicate in English.

 

--complaints from local native residents that when they need to visit various government offices such as Social Security and others, that the lines are very long because so many Haitian residents who've arrived in recent years are now also also using those offices.

 

Edited September 14 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

REUTERS -- Haitian Americans said they fear for their safety after Donald Trump repeated a false and derogatory claim during this week's presidential debate about immigrants in Ohio.  -- Sep 13, 2024

 

 

Edited September 14 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A good overview from CNN on all the various issues on the table in Springfield:

CNN visits town where Trump falsely claimed migrants are eating pets. Here's what we found

 

 

[Hummin]

2 hours ago, DougieMax said:

Nothing like that could possibly happen among that fine group of engineers, doctors and mathematicians imported from Haiti. Heck, the country can benefit from a million more. Elect Kamala Harris and we'll get twice the load of human treasure. Not to do so would be racist (an sh!t).

Cia have never intervened in Haiti? 

[DougieMax]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Comments from the CEO of a Springfield manufacturing company praising Haitian immigrant workers and explaining how they provided his company with a workforce that they couldn't get from native workers there.

 

And after that, broader background on the Haitian immigrant issues in Springfield from PBS.

 

 

The unspoken part about this is that his company is saving a ton of money wages which is one of the real reasons the border has been allowed to be so porous for so many decades. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

'It just exploded': Springfield woman claims she never meant to spark false rumors about Haitians

The woman behind an early Facebook post that helped spark baseless rumors about Haitians eating pets told NBC News that she feels for the immigrant community.

 

Sept. 14, 2024

 

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The woman behind an early Facebook post spreading a harmful and baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating local pets that helped thrust a small Ohio city into the national spotlight says she had no firsthand knowledge of any such incident and is now filled with regret and fear as a result of the ensuing fallout.

...

Lee recently posted on Facebook about a neighbor’s cat that went missing, adding that the neighbor told Lee she thought the cat was the victim of an attack by her Haitian neighbors.

 

Newsguard, a media watchdog that monitors for misinformation online, found that Lee had been among the first people to publish a post to social media about the rumor, screenshots of which circulated online. The neighbor, Kimberly Newton, said she heard about the attack from a third party, NewsGuard reported. 

 

Newton told Newsguard that Lee’s Facebook post misstated her story, and that the owner of the missing cat was “an acquaintance of a friend” rather than her daughter’s friend. Newton could not be reached for comment.

 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/-just-exploded-springfield-woman-says-never-meant-spark-rumors-haitian-rcna171099

 

[300sd]

Our "Dreamers" doing Voodoo. It's ok until they get down to us!

[billd766]

Part of the problem IMHO Is that Trump and Vance are both self opiniated bigots who truly believe that they have the right to spread racism, lies and unsubstantiated rumours completely unchecked by anybody. Trump in particular gets upset when he is fact checked as seen by his on air response at the debate on 10 September.

 

The gop has a lot to answer for, as they must have known that they were supporting a serial liar, a convicted felon (with more charges facing him), and a convicted sex offender, yet they are still backing him as a contender for the presidency.

 

Is he really the best person that they can find?

[John Drake]

You've already lost on this issue. Putting up another topic about it just helps you lose more. The only thing people are talking about from the debate is Haitians eating pets. Nothing else. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X are overflowing with memes and videos about it. It's choked out everything else. That is the message from the debate: Haitians have invaded America and are eating pets. Doesn't matter if you like or not. That's the fact of the matter.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And NONE of those claims made by Trump or reported-posted elsewhere have thus far been shown to be true or verified-substantiated, regarding the notion of Haitians in Springfield harming pets or other animals.

 

Regarding Haitians in Springfield, It's simply a bunch of unproven, unsubstantiated claims that had already been investigated to completion locally before they were resurrected by Trump's presidential debate claims and continuing similar claims in the wake of the debate.

 

And that includes the animal claims made by the white nationalist neo-Nazi group that has been organizing and demonstrating in Springfield against Haitians, as per the topic of this thread.

 

Editorial today from the local Springfield News-Sun newspaper:

 

OUR VIEW: Viral misinformation about immigrants in our community will lead to violence. Only you can stop it.

...

"We are deeply concerned for the safety of Springfield residents, including the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants now living here legally.

...

We repeat: There is no evidence to substantiate the hateful, racist accusations that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are doing anything to people’s pets. [emphasis added]

...

Responsible leadership requires following the facts. It is incredibly irresponsible – and dangerous – for candidates and elected officials to traffic in unsubstantiated rumors in order to advance a political agenda."

 

https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/ideas-voices/our-view-viral-misinformation-about-immigrants-in-our-community-will-lead-to-violence-only-you-can-stop-it/KRPF263KFVARVHAHGKXQUYXJ2A/

 

Edited September 14 by TallGuyJohninBKK