'He politicized it': OH pastor reveals Vance repeated immigrant lie after leaders asked for help

When Sen. JD Vance's (R-Ohio) constituents asked their senator for help to accommodate an influx of Haitian refugees, he exploited it for political gain instead of doing his job.

That's according to the Rev. Carl Ruby, who is the senior pastor at the nondenominational Central Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio. Religion News Service (RNS) recently reported from Springfield that the 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee's debunked lie about Haitian immigrants eating pets was in direct response to the community reaching out to their U.S. senator for federal resources. Ruby said that after a an 11 year-old boy was killed when a Haitian migrant crashed into a school bus in 2023, tensions in the community were high, with Haitians frequently being the target of beatings and robberies. The anger had finally started to subside before the Hillbilly Elegy author inflamed it again.

“It really kind of quieted down until our local leaders reached out to JD Vance for help getting financial assistance,” Ruby said. “And instead of providing financial assistance, he politicized it.”

READ MORE: JD Vance slammed for spreading false rumors of pet-eating Haitian immigrants

Since both Vance and former President Donald Trump have spread the false rumor (city officials have said repeatedly that there is no evidence that Haitians are eating pets), hate groups have descended on the town to exploit tensions. During his most recent Sunday sermon, Rev. Ruby made it clear that Haitians fleeing political violence and instability in their home country were welcome in his church and in their new community.

"I call on our former president, President Trump, out of the goodness of his heart, out of the divine spark of God’s image that lives in every human being, to let people know that he was misinformed about what’s happening in our community, and to ask hate groups who are here to leave," Ruby said. He also called on President Joe Biden to send additional resources to Springfield, which has taken in roughly 20,000 Haitian refugees in the past decade.

RNS' report noted that after Trump and Vance singled out Springfield, the Trinity White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan began distributing flyers in the community that read: "Foreigners and Haitians out — join us and stand against forced immigration." Haitian residents have reportedly been discussing whether to flee for their family's safety.

“We have so many good leaders working with us,” said Viles Dorsainvil, who is the president of the Springfield Haitian Community Help and Support Center. “And we do our best in our nonprofit to work through this situation with the community. I think that if we just take our time, we will navigate this together. But the tension is here. The fear is here.”

READ MORE: 'Will be on his political tombstone': Vance swiftly rebuked after admitting he 'creates stories'

Vance started spreading the baseless rumor in September that Trump eventually elevated on the national stage when he mentioned it during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, which was viewed by 67 million people. During an interview with CNN host Dana Bash, the Ohio Republican eventually admitted that he felt the need to "create stories" that were untrue in order to cement an anti-immigrant narrative.

"If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do," Vance said.

Due to a prevalence of bomb threats called into local schools and government buildings since Vance started encouraging supporters to keep spreading the false rumor, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine has deployed additional resources to the community. This includes 36 "field force" officers to sweep Springfield schools each morning for explosives.

Click here to read RNS' report in full.

READ MORE: 'I'm going to have to move': Haitian migrants 'anxious and scared' amid wave of MAGA attacks