Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance has dug in on his claim Haitians in an Ohio community are abducting and eating pets, even as the state’s GOP governor and other officials insist there is no evidence of such behavior.

But the salacious claim was easily debunked.

“The Vance campaign provided the Wall Street Journal with a police report to prove their claims about cat-eating Haitians in Springfield. The WSJ spoke to the woman who filed it, who said she later found her cat alive and well in her basement. She also apologized to her Haitian neighbors.” Justin Baragona posted to X with a link to a story in The Wall Street Journal.

Local and state officials have said the claims are untrue, wrongly cast the city in a negative light and have brought unwanted and frightening negative attention since Trump mentioned it in the presidential debate last week, when he called out Springfield by name.

For two days straight, bomb threats prompted the evacuation of schools and government buildings, with some emailed threats referencing an influx of migrants into the community.

Vance was asked in an interview whether he knew the claims were false.

“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, quickly clarifying that he “created the focus that allowed the media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by policies.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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