Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Springfield, OH officials say Haitian migrants have not been eating pets.

DeWine said, “Look, there’s a lot of garbage on the Internet, and, you know, this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all.”

He added, “There are hate groups coming into Springfield. We don’t need these hate groups. I saw a piece of literature yesterday that the mayor told me about from, purportedly, the KKK. Look. Springfield is a good city. They are good people. They are welcoming people. We have challenges every day. We are working on those challenges. Haitians culturally, my wife, Fran, and I have seen this when we were down in Haiti. Education is prized. So when you look at all of these things, people who want to work, people who value their kids, who value education, you know, these are positive influences on our community in Springfield, and any comment about that otherwise, I think, is hurtful and is not helpful to the city of Springfield and the people of Springfield. This is a state on the move. It’s a city on the move. These Haitians can be part of this, but there are challenges, and, you know, I’ve talked to people at the White House. We need additional assistance.”

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