Turns Out There Is a Goose Killer in Springfield — A White Guy Named Brian
AP Photo/Don Ryan; AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Former President Donald Trump gave a national platform to his running mate’s lies that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating people’s pets at the last presidential debate. It turns out that as those false claims were being circulated, someone was arrested for illegally killing geese in Springfield, Ohio — but he wasn’t a Haitian immigrant.
Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) has continuously doubled down on his baseless claims about Haitian immigrants, and Trump pushed the rumors during the presidential debate on September 10. At a rally following the debate, he built on the pet-eating lies to include ducks and geese being taken from parks in Springfield. Texas Observer correspondent Steven Monacelli posted on Twitter/X on Thursday that there was indeed an arrest made of someone illegally hunting geese on a Springfield golf course — 64-year-old Brian Comer, a White man who pleaded guilty and paid a $200 fine.
The date of the arrest was September 10, the day of the presidential debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump started making claims about geese and ducks two days after the debate, one day after local Springfield officials said there was “no evidence” of such claims.
That element of the story stemmed from a Reddit photo taken in July about 50 miles away in Columbus, Ohio that showed a Black man carrying a dead goose. The photo went viral on social media in the wake of rumors about migrants, with Trump boosters falsely claiming it was a Haitian who had killed the bird in Springfield.
The person who took and posted the photo told The Columbus Dispatch: “I wish I never took it, for sure. And I hate that the picture that I took is being weaponized to use against immigrants, or really, any other group. They always have to have somebody to use as a weapon.”
As Trump, Vance, and their allies stayed persistent on pushing the baseless claims, Haitian immigrants all over the country have experience increased threats. Schools, hospitals, and public buildings were shut down in Springfield due to bomb threats related to the lies. Local events were also canceled due to safety concerns.
