SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (NewsNation) — A Haitian journalist covering the lies swirling about migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, is applauding the state’s Republican governor for standing behind the recently demonized immigrant community in the city.
Garry Pierre-Pierre, founder of The Haitian Times, told NewsNation he and his team went to Springfield to hear from the community and the residents whose lives have been upended by the lies promoted by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
“We went to Springfield to try to do some reporting and have a town hall conversation with the community because we didn’t just want to come in, get a few quotes and then leave. We just wanted to talk to as many people as we could,” Pierre-Pierre said.
Then, as experienced by other Haitians in Springfield, threats of violence followed.
“In the process, the city officials told us that the place was becoming too dangerous,” Pierre-Pierre said. “Bomb threats all the time, and officials said that they couldn’t guarantee our safety. So we end up doing this convening online.”
Pierre-Pierre and his team were threatened again two days later.
“Both my editor and a woman who was in a panel with us were swatted,” he said. “What that means is that the police get a call from someone that a murder had happened at your location, and then the police respond. My editor was at home thinking it was a delivery person when the doorbell rang, and then the house was surrounded by police.”
Pierre-Pierre is still committed to his work but has added extra security precautions like security cameras and email protections.
“We’re not going to back down. We’re not going to stop; this is an important story. My parents came to America when I was a child because we were fleeing fascism and dictatorship,” Pierre-Pierre said. “We love America. I love America. America has given me a lot. I have given a lot to America, and this is my job.”
Vance admitted his claims were false during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” where he said he felt the need “to create stories so that the … media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people”.
While Pierre-Pierre continues to cover the story, he has a message for Vance regarding the lies he’s spread about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
“It’s very divisive, and it’s not true.”