4 September 19-25, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE “THEY’RE EATING DOGS” HAITIAN FLORIDA REP. REBUKES FALSE TRUMP CLAIMS. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIND uring the September 10 presi- dential debate, former president Donald Trump repeated an un- founded rumor that Haitian im- migrants are abducting pets and eating them in Springfield, Ohio. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump claimed. “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.” On Monday, conservative talking heads and Republican lawmakers including Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spread outlandish claims that immigrants living in Springfield are eating their neighbors’ pets. “Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Spring- field, Ohio,” Vance posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Reports now show that people have had their pets ab- ducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” Despite officials’ in- sistence that there is no evidence of mi- grants abducting and eating pets, Trump amplified the false claim on the debate stage on national tele- vision. U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents Flori- da’s 20th congressional district, tells New Times that Trump’s fearmongering com- ments are destructive to Black minorities and immigrants. A first-generation Haitian- American, Cherfilus-McCormick is the first Black legislator to represent the district, which includes swaths of western and central Broward County and a portion of Palm Beach County. “When J.D. Vance started this, it was abso- lutely disgusting. Because he’s making these comments and he’s well aware that they’re unfounded and they’re not true,” she says. “And for Donald Trump to go ahead and lean into it and continue to make these comments — which clearly the intention is to dehuman- ize the Haitian migrants, but what’s even worse is that he’s trying to scare people into voting for him.” A Springfield newspaper traced the ru- mors to a Facebook group in which a poster “claimed that their neighbor’s daughter’s friend had lost her cat and found it hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home being carved up to be eaten,” and that “police told them that ‘they have been doing it’” at a local public park with ducks and geese. Springfield, home to roughly 60,000 resi- dents according to the 2020 U.S. Census, has experienced an influx of 15,000 to 20,000 le- gal Haitian migrants fleeing gang violence and turmoil in their home country. Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said his office has not received any “credible re- ports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.” The city’s police de- partment likewise noted that it has not re- ceived any reports. A day after Vance spread the racist con- spiracy theory, he backhandedly acknowl- edged that it could be false. “It’s possible, of course, that all of these ru- mors will turn out to be false...,” Vance posted on X, adding, “In short, don’t let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing.” Cherfilus-McCormick says spreading such falsehoods and creating fictitious char- acters and storylines are part of the Trump camp’s plan to stoke fear in the nation ahead of the November election. She worries it will result in harm to mi- grant communities. “It’s dangerous for our country because we can’t forget what this is attached to,” she tells New Times. “These are the same people who were fearmongering, saying they are coming into Congress, and they were looking for Nancy Pelosi. These people don’t just make comments. They actually act on it. He’s talking about the Proud Boys. He’s calling for the militias. These are intentional acts to harm. These are who we’re talking about. We’re not talking about people who just call you names and go back to sleep. These people are doing it to incite action.” Cherfilus-McCormick notes it is particu- larly outrageous that Vance is repeating the claims considering that his wife is the daugh- ter of immigrants and knows how hard immi- grants work. “If you hear the actual businesspeople who are in Ohio, they actually have been wel- coming Haitian people,” the congresswoman says. “If you understand the Haitian culture, Haitian culture is very anti-drugs, very pro- education, very pro-Christianity and Cathol- ocism, and very pro-succeeding.” Adds Cherfilus-McCormick: “As a first- generation American, my parents always said, ‘Don’t embarrass me. Work your hearts. Prove and show people who we are,’ and this our opportunity to stand up and show them who we are, instead of allowing them to per- petuate these false narratives.” | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS “They’re eating the DOGS,” former President Trump proclaimed on the presidential debate stage. Screenshot via YouTube ▼ CORAL GABLES JOIN US! BECOME A NEW TIMES MEMBER — AND OWN A PIECE OF NEW TIMES HISTORY. BY TOM FINKEL B ig news on the home front: New Times has re-created a piece of our own his- tory in book form — and we want to give you a copy! With the assistance of a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, we collected former staff writer Jim DeFede’s coverage of the U.S. government’s pursuit of Miami’s infamous “Cocaine Cowboys,” Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta (AKA Los Muchachos). The Chronicles of Willy & Sal takes readers through this improbable only-in-Miami tale exactly as New Times readers experienced it in real-time in the 1990s, with the bonus of scores of added visuals — evidence photos, courtroom sketches, reproductions of the original newsprint layouts, and more. The book includes a foreword by filmmakers Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman, cofounders of the Rakontur production company, whose 2021 Netflix documentary Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami draws heavily on DeFede’s contemporaneous coverage. There’s also an afterword by DeFede to anchor the compilation, and an introduction by yours truly, to set the scene. How can you get your hands on this piece of local history? It’s pretty simple: Become a recurring mem- ber of Miami New Times at the “Supporter” level ($80/year) and we’ll send you a copy, signed by DeFede, Corben, and me. Up your membership to “Advocate” ($150/year) and we’ll also throw in a poster depicting a vintage Willy & Sal New Times cover (choose one from 1992, 1993, or 1995). Back us at the “Benefactor” level ($300/ year) and we’ll sign the book and the poster. Save the Date And as long as I’ve got your attention... On Saturday, October 19, the Books & Books Literary Foundation presents An Evening With Jim DeFede, Billy Corben, and Tom Finkel (that’s me) discussing The Chronicles of Willy & Sal: Mi- ami’s Cocaine Cowboys. Mitchell Kaplan, one of my local heroes, has generously invited us to his gem of a bookstore in Coral Gables to share our memories of the wild 1990s and offer our thoughts regarding the past, present, and future of local journalism. An Evening With Jim DeFede, Billy Corben, and Tom Finkel. 6 p.m. Saturday, October 19, at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 305-442-4408; booksandbooks.com. Free. RSVP to attend. To become a New Times member, punch mi- aminewtimes.com/support into your web browser! [email protected] “IT’S POSSIBLE, OF COURSE, THAT ALL OF THESE RUMORS WILL TURN OUT TO BE FALSE...”
