MSNBC Analyst Says Pet-Eating Claims Obviously Fake As Ohio Is An ‘Open Carry’ State: ‘Somebody Is Going To Take Out a Gun’

MSNBC political analyst Maria Hinojosa argued that if false claims about immigrants kidnapping and eating pets in Ohio were at all true, it’d be a much messier situation because Ohio is an “open carry” state.

Former President Donald Trump pushed the conspiracy theory himself in Tuesday’s ABC News debate where he was quickly fact-checked. Town officials have pushed back on the claim from Trump and others on his team, saying there is no actual proof that pets are being kidnapped and eaten.

Hinojosa joined MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera on Friday to discuss the matter and called Trump an “authoritarian” for doubling down on the claim despite numerous fact-checks, but warned many conservative Latino voters she’s spoken with still support the former president.

She also blasted Trump for targeting Haitians, noting that the community has been targeted before.

“The Haitian people know about being targeted,” she said.

Hinojosa dismissed the pet claims and said they should be obviously fake from the get-go because Ohio is an “open carry” state and people “love” their pets.

“I also know Ohio, and, you know, Ohio is an open carry state in terms of guns. And you know how much people love their pets. There is no way that Ohio, where you have guns, and people are going to be allowing these people to walk away with their cats and dogs. Somebody is going to be taking out a gun and saying, ‘you’re not taking my dog,’ which is why it’s not happening, it’s not true. I’m glad that we are continually doing the fact check, because it’s a lie,” she said.

Cabrera noted that the conspiracy theory is having real consequences in Ohio. Two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was shut down in Springfield, Ohio due to a series of bomb threats, just one day after City Hall faced similar threats. Mayor Rob Rue said the threats against the schools contained “hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community.”

Watch above via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!