In parroting a lie about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, Trump excites extremists

When former President Donald Trump made a false claim in this month’s debate with Vice President Harris that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, it stunned many who heard it. But perhaps among the most stunned were neo-Nazis, who, for weeks, had been trying to launch that racist lie into the mainstream.

“Whether they're neo-Nazi or white nationalist, all of them [were] thrilled,” said Jeff Tischauser, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “All of them [were] in almost disbelief that they had a presidential candidate recycle and reuse the rhetoric that has been popular in these movements for decades.”

One group, especially, was celebrating. The Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi hate group that Tischauser estimates to have between 50 and 80 members nationally, posted to the group’s Telegram channel. The group claimed that it had “pushed Springfield into the public consciousness.”

“When Trump mentioned the pet-eating narrative, Blood Tribe was crowing about it,” said Cass Troy, an extremism researcher who runs an online publication called the Cassandra Report. NPR is using a pseudonym for Troy, because of Blood Tribe’s history of doxing its critics.

“They were delighted,” Troy said. “They take all responsibility for it, even though they don't deserve it.”

Reaching a more mainstream audience

The narrative about pet-eating has been decisively debunked. Even so, it has taken on momentum. Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance has continued to repeat the lie, even after his campaign staff reportedly heard directly from Springfield officials that there was no evidence to support it. Since the debate, the city has fielded dozens of bomb threats against schools and other municipal