Let’s hear from the real victims of the anti-migrant attacks in Springfield

The two Springfield residents who started the smear against Haitian migrants. I encourage you to read the entire article, and keep in mind that every one of these attacks begins when one shithead decides to open their mouth and spit out some hate.

NewsGuard identified and tracked down the two people central to the claim: Erika Lee, the Springfield resident who wrote the original Facebook post, and Kimberly Newton, the neighbor who had provided her with a third-hand account of the rumor, making Lee’s social media post a fourth-hand account: the alleged acquaintance/cat owner; Newton’s friend; Newton; and Lee, who posted it on Facebook.

In exclusive interviews, NewsGuard spoke both with Lee, a 35-year-old hardware store worker who has lived in Springfield for four years, and Newton, her neighbor and a 12-year resident of Springfield. The interviews reveal just how flimsy and unsubstantiated the rumor was from the beginning — based entirely on third hand hearsay. Yet it quickly gained traction and, remarkably, found its way to Trump’s lips on a national stage.

“I’m not sure I’m the most credible source because I don’t actually know the person who lost the cat,” Newton said about the rumor she had passed on to her neighbor, Lee, the Facebook poster. Newton explained to NewsGuard that the cat owner was “an acquaintance of a friend” and that she heard about the supposed incident from that friend, who, in turn, learned about it from “a source that she had.” Newton added: “I don’t have any proof.”

Not having proof didn’t stop Newton – who likely didn’t hear the story from anyone except her internal monologue – from passing the story along to Lee. After all, Newton claims she was subjected to an unpleasant experience by several Haitians a few years ago.

“I think it was two years ago now, I went to the [Bureau of Motor Vehicles] to renew my license or my tags. I can’t remember, but I was sitting in the BMV, and the only way I know to describe it is I felt like … I was transported, because all around me it was people talking a different language. … I felt like I was the minority,” she said.

That’s her story, anyway.

And there’s Lee, a tRump supporter, who is now claiming that she didn’t mean to do any harm and is upset that people say she’s a racist. She also claims to be scared for her safety and her daughter’s safety.

She and Newton should be more worried that the city of Springfield will present them with a bill for the clusterfuck they caused.

Lee’s since-deleted Facebook post first appeared in a private Springfield Facebook group called “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information” earlier this month (Lee could not recall the exact date). The post said: “My neighbor [Newton] informed me that her daughters [sic] friend had lost her cat. … One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat.”

How does this shit sound remotely plausible to anyone with two brain cells? It doesn’t. Being plausible, rational or logical isn’t the point. It just has to be about someone the audience hates. If the Republican Party were even a quarter of the political party it once was, this bullshit would have bobbed around the racist right wing toilet bowl before it was flushed to make room for the next dump. But the GOP has peeled off the lid to the septic tank and likes to swan dive into the sewage.

And if you’re wondering what will be next out of the chapped piehole of TFG, I’ll give you a hint: Cannibalism.