Timeline of unsubstantiated claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio

Former President Donald Trump has continued to peddle unsubstantiated claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, despite the city saying they have no credible reports.

Here is a timeline of how this narrative developed.

– Sept. 5: NewsGuard, an organization whose mission is countering misinformation, traced the origin of the eating pets narrative to a viral X post on Sept. 5 that featured a screenshot of the initial rumor. NewsGuard tracked down a Springfield resident who wrote the original allegation in a Facebook group that claimed Haitians were "carving up" her neighbor's daughter's friend's cat, though the date of this post is unknown.

– Sept. 6: A conservative account on X with over 2.9 million users further disseminated the screenshot of this rumor. The accompanying text read, "Under Harris and Biden, 20,000 Haitian immigrants were shipped to the town. Now ducks and pets are disappearing."

– Sept. 8: Charlie Kirk, an American conservative political talk show host and Internet personality, added onto the unsubstantiated allegations by also posting the screen grab and saying that "residents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets."

– Sept. 9: The rumor reached the Trump campaign after Sen. JD Vance claimed on X that "people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country."

– Sept. 9: The city of Springfield told ABC News in a statement that "there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."

– Sept. 9: The unsubstantiated claims continued to spread among X, with the help of Elon Musk who posted an AI-generated cat and a duck with the caption, "save them!" His post currently has 93.2 million views.

– Sept. 10: Vance acknowledged on social media, "It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false." However, he urged people to "keep the cat memes flowing," and he went on to write about a child that was killed in Springfield after a migrant under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) crashed into a school bus last year.

– Sept. 10: The parents of the deceased child asked Trump and Vance to stop using their son "as a political tool," and also touched on their "untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members."

-- Sept. 10: The Arizona Republican Party established "EAT LESS KITTENS — vote Republican!" billboards in Phoenix, Arizona, with a Facebook post that promised Trump would secure borders.

– Sept. 10: While traveling to the ABC News presidential debate, Trump posted AI-generated images and memes referencing the unsubstantiated claim of pets being eaten by immigrants.

– Sept. 10: Trump repeated the conspiracy on the debate stage. "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," he said.

– Sept. 10: Vice President Kamala Harris responded to these comments during the debate. "Talk about extreme," she said before adding that such rhetoric is part of the reason why she has been endorsed by 200 Republicans who worked for previous Republican administrations, and that Trump does not address real issues.

– Sept. 10: After the debate, Trump shared unsubstantiated posts about alleged Haitian immigrants seen carrying geese in Springfield and a woman arrested in Canton, Ohio after allegedly eating a cat, who the Associated Press later reported is not Haitian and was born in Ohio.

– Sept. 11: Trump doubled down on his anti-immigration rhetoric on Fox News, saying, "People from Haiti, I guess, have come in illegally, totally coming illegally into our country."

– Sept. 11: A local resident in Springfield visited the city commission to express concerns about Haitian migrants. He told ABC News that he misses the "old days" and discussed unsubstantiated information he got from a Republican state Senate candidate, demonstrating how anti-immigration sentiment has become deep-seated in local elections as well.

– Sept. 11: Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck acknowledged some strains on the housing, healthcare and education systems in the community due to the rapid growth in population, but stressed that it was not from the "rumored being reported." He called the continued narrative from Trump and his allies "disappointing," adding that the city celebrates and promotes the growth in the community boosted by immigrants.

– Sept. 11: Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said, "I think we should take the word of the city manager and the mayor that they've found no credible evidence of that story of Haitians eating pets."

– Sept. 12: The City of Springfield received a bomb threat that prompted an "immediate response from local and regional law enforcement" -- though there's no indication of whether it had anything to do with the recent narrative that's been floating about the city.

– Sept. 12: Social media activist Laura Loomer made more baseless claims about Springfield. Loomer has received media attention in recent days traveling with Trump and delivering extreme rhetoric on X.

– Sept. 12: Trump posted more AI-generated images of him with cats and ducks, including an AI-generated image of a cat holding a sign that says, "KAMALA HATES ME."

– Sept. 12: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is the daughter of Haitian immigrants, condemned this rhetoric and called it a "very bizarre and very hateful smear" that has already been "debunked."

– Sept. 12: During a rally in Tucson, Arizona, Trump continued to advance these sentiments, saying "recordings of 911 calls show the residents are reporting the migrants are walking off with the town's geese. They've taken the geese. You know where the geese are in the park, in the lake, and even walking off with their pets. My dog's been taken. My dog's gone." He added that the Springfield community has over "20,000 illegals," and he referred to "illegal Haitian migrants taking over a beautiful place."

– Sept. 13: Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told ABC News that he believes the community threats are directly connected to the unsubstantiated rumors circling around about the Haitian community in his town. He said such rumors are “factually not true” and explained how they are hurting his community. “Your pets are safe in Springfield,” he added.

– Sept. 13: President Biden expressed his support for the Haitian community, saying these claims are “simply wrong” and that it “has to stop.”

There has been an influx of Haitian migrants in the city of Springfield in recent years, but city officials told ABC News that the number has been exaggerated by some, and the figure is estimated to be about 12,000 - 15,000. According to their Immigration FAQ page, the migrants are in the country legally under Temporary Protected Status -- or TPS -- a temporary immigration status granted to foreign nationals from countries that are experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other emergencies.

A 2020 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed U.S.-born citizens “are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes” than undocumented immigrants.

ABC News' Soorin Kim, Armando Garcia, and Alex Presha contributed to this report.